The Gift of God - Book one: Birth of Daybreak
by O'Ryaner Flaudi
Summary: Issei Hyoudu, the Hand of God, is set up to take over heaven. Michael, however, will not go so willingly. When during one of his quests he crosses paths with the peerage of Rias Gremory, the Princess of Destruction from Kuoh Academy, a seemingly insignificant trade changes all the rules of the game. (full summary inside. IsseixHarem). First lemon now up.
1. Chapter 1

Hello Everyone, O'Ryaner Flaudi Here,

This is the first book of an arch of three of about 100.000-200.000 words each I'm planning. Whether I will be around to see through to the end, only time will tell. You have my word I will try my best though!

Summary

In this story, Issei takes on the role of a powerful angel, whose back story you will discover in the many, many chapters to come. During one of his quests for Michael, which you will read about in this chapter, he crosses paths with Rias Gremory and everything begins to change for him from that point onwards. This story will contain IsseixHarem with the following characters: Koneko (duh, too cute not to), Asia, Rias, Akeno, Xenovia, Raynare, Gabriel, Irina, Kuroka. I am not too sure about Ophis(?), I probably wont be doing Sona+peerage or Serafall.

Announcements

This is a bit of a sounding board for an original fiction piece I am writing. I have roughly the first 20k words on paper at the current time. I NEED PROOF READERS! If you are interested, please contact me and we will work something out. In here is the first lemon already, so worst case scenario for you guys is i grow bored, upload what I have, and then leave it be. To prevent that from happening, be an active and understanding audience. Review, comment, let me know what you think etc. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Concerning mistakes in the story

Any spelling errors are, of course, my own. Feel free to point them out and I will try to get around to fixing them. Eventually. I'm asking you lot to be forgiving on mistakes in the background of the characters. I have a relatively limited knowledge about the DxD universe, so bite me. Point these out too, and I will try my best to correct them. HOWEVER: since I am giving Issei my own take in this story, I have to twist some of the events from the original canon. Lest the story makes no sense.

Disclaimers

Alright lawyers, listen up, cuz im only doing this once. I own nothing! Not the DxD universe, not some of the creative elements I have taken inspiration from. For the enjoyment of my readers I will not call them out, see if they can find my sources themselves. There is too many of them to name, just like my current girlfriends.

Reviews

Pretty, pretty please, do review my story. It's the only way you lot show me you are actually interested in what's in here. I don't mind criticism at all, for it's what helps me improve. Do, however, do it constructively. You think my story sucks, that's fine, but tell me why. You are, of course, free to leave me compliments as well ;).

Enough blabbering. On with the story: Enjoy! ~O'Ryaner

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><p><em>Heaven – The throne of Michael<em>

He knelt before the ornate chair. He knew it was but a perversion of its original splendor, when god had occupied these halls. He wouldn't know. Unlike the great seraph who now sat on the throne he hadn't existed before the end of God. "Hyoudou," Michael spoke, "If my sources are correct, and they usually are, the Grigori are having a bit of a problem." He paused for a moment. "Although I am confident Azazel is more than capable of dealing with this issue himself, I think it's time you paid them a visit. Think of it as a token of our goodwill in times of need." Issei bowed his head in acknowledgement. "Is that all you will have of me?" Michael nodded. "For now. You may leave at your leisure."

Gabriel stood behind him, her twelve wings spread as he strapped weapon after weapon, holstered in leather straps to his body. "When will you be back?" She asked. "I do not know." He replied in a flat voice. "I do not like it when Michael makes you put your life on the line." Issei turned around to look her in the eyes. "You know I am virtually untouchable." He said in a flat voice. Suddenly the angel had tears in her eyes. "Do you feel nothing for me anymore?" She whispered through quivering lips. He held her gaze, his face unmoving. "The only thing I feel these days, Gabriel," he said, turning away from her, "Is the feeling in the wake of your absolute betrayal."

"You know I had no other choice!" She wailed. Deigning her unworthy of further words he spread his fourteen wings. The sun radiated of the golden tips of his upper wings, which faded to white. The color turned to midnight blue by his third set and formed darker shades all the way down to the midnight black of his lower wings with tips kissed with crimson red. Then he was gone. The darkness of the night rushed past him as he descended from heaven. A mere minute later he found himself in the Grigori court. Over the years he had grown a little too familiar with the place. He looked up, finding the window to Azazel's chambers.

With a swish of his wings he was in the air. Unlike the others of his kind he could blend into the night, remaining hidden from view. It was a gift bestowed on very few. With trained balance and precision he landed on the narrow ledge outside Azazel's window. When Issei pried his fingers under the window he found it gave way. How careless of the fallen angel. He made himself comfortable in the frame of the open window, dangling one leg outside and waited.

It took three hours, but his patience paid off. Outside the thick wooden door he heard muffled voices. He could Identify Azazel's as one of them. "…Alright, I understand your reluctance to act, but do keep a close tab on them." The key clicked into the lock and the door swung open, bathing the room in light. "Hello Azazel." Issei said. The poor man jumped at hearing his voice. "Dammit Hyoudou, one of these days I swear my heart will give in with jump scares like that." Issei chuckled. "If I wanted to jump scare you I would have hidden next to the door. Michael tells me you have an issue that needs dealing with. Michael worded it so eloquently, apparently I am your 'good will token in times of need'."

"I should really get around to rutting out that poor fool's spies from my court." Azazel muttered. "I would gladly accept your services, although I think sending the Hand of God after my 'issues' might be considered overkill." Issei quirked an eyebrow. "Are you rejecting Michael's gift?" Azazel's eyes went wide as he realized what he had implied. "No, not at all…" he was silent for a moment. "A few of my angels went rogue, no one particularly powerful, but I have received troubling reports. Apparently they sided with Sellzen Freed and are aiming to steal sacred gear. It's unheard of such a procedure being performed before, so even I, the self-proclaimed leading expert on the field, don't know if it can be done. I, however, don't want to take my chances with Freed, or rather, Freed's connections. My lieutenants fear the stray community will see any preventive measures as a preemptive strike."

Issei nodded in understanding. "Name." He inquired. Names held a power few knew of in this world. "Raynare, Kalawaner, Dohnaseek, Mittelt." "Their lives are forfeit." Issei said, before leaping out of the window. He soared high in to the sky, far above the clouds and turned to face the wind. He heard the familiar whispers only he could hear in his ear.

_Japan, Gremory, Tainted ground_

And so Issei found himself in a quaint city, barely worthy of the title. As far as he knew this was the only place in Japan where a Gremory ruled. His wings disappeared and he started down the street. Issei did not need sleep. He would wander around till dawn, memorizing the streets. When those streets would fill with people come sunrise, he could start his hunt for clues.

When the first golden rays crawled over the horizon some seven hours later, he found himself drawn to a large school building. Something was off about the place. Not quite… human in nature. He found his questions soon answered when the students trickled into the school grounds one by one. He was leaning against a tree, observing them, when an eye catching duo made their entrance. He sensed the presence of an angel, a strong bloodline yet diluted in strength, a strength he was very familiar with. The daughter of Baraqiel, how curious.

Who the other girl was, couldn't be more obvious. The Gremory always took great pride in their flamboyant hair. Apparently he had found the devil's home base. He turned away from the school, knowing it would yield little information to him. He would head to the mall, perhaps there he would catch some useful whispers and rumors. He passed a playground. A young girl crouched over a boy. He had tears in his eyes, a fresh scratch on his knees from where he had undoubtedly hit the ground harder than intended. A green light glowed in the girl's hands. A sacred gear perhaps. "There you go. You mustn't cry. Big boys don't cry." She told the kid with a kind smile.

She got up, revealing the colors of her nun's garb and unconsciously took a step back as she looked at the cold eyes of the stranger behind her. "Oh, hello there." She said, laughing nervously. "It was very kind of you to help that kid." Issei said. She smiled. "I would do the same for anyone else. My name is Asia. Asia Argento." He shook her outstretched hand "Pleased to meet you, Issei Hyoudou. You should know it's not customary to shake hands here in Japan. You are not from around here are you?"

"I just moved in from England!" She said excitedly. "I know we only just met, but could you do me a favor?" Asia asked. "Sure thing." Issei replied. "I'm looking for the church, could you tell me where it is?" Issei pointed up hill. "There it is, you can see the tower from over here. I'll walk you there." He offered. He had been there last night, seen derelict building. At the time it had been abandoned, however, something about this girl sparked his interest.

The walk did not take long. A bare ten minutes later they stood in front of the large church doors. "Would you like to come in?" She asked. An ominous presence now radiated from the building. "Yes, yes I think I would like to come in." He said, his eyes on the once white tower. Lack of maintenance had withered it a shade of beige now. "The house of god is open to everyone!" The girl said, pushing the doors open.

Inside a girl stood. A disguised fallen angel. "Asia, it's so good to see you in the flesh at last!" She said. "Who this man you brought with you?" She asked. "This is Issei Hyoudou, he helped me find the church!" Issei concluded the girl really was too innocent. He doubted she realized the girl who greeted her was as fake as it could get. The girl bowed in greeting to Issei. "Pleased to meet, my name is Yuuma Amano."

And names carried power. Even fake ones. Perhaps the Gremory girl knew something about her. Creating a believable cover would require her to partake in school. There just so happened to only be one of those in town.

So Issei found himself shadowing the crimson haired girl after school through the abandoned hallways. The daughter of Baraqiel was with her. To his frustration the black haired girl with the yellow ribbons in her hair kept looking over her shoulder every twelve steps or so. "Is something wrong, Akeno?" The Gremory girl asked. "It's nothing." The other one replied. "I can't have my Queen worried over nothing. Tell me." The Gremory girl persisted.

"I have the feeling we are being followed, Rias." She said. "Nonsense, I would sense it if anyone was nearby. The only souls I sense are those of the rest of the peerage, a few of Sona's peerage and the cleaners." Perhaps this would be an opportune moment to make his entrance. "You would do well to listen to your Queen, there are some things you cannot sense Gremory Devil." Issei said, dropping his invisibility spell.

Immediately the two girls kicked into action. "Who are you and what do you want." Rias said, raising a fist filled with crimson manifested destruction magic. "Peace, Rias Gremory. I am not here to cause you harm. Also I seriously doubt you could cause any harm to me, so I'd quit your little light show." He said, gesturing to her raised hand. The two girls looked at each other for a brief moment, nodded and stood down.

"The question still stands." Rias said. "My name is Issei Hyoudou. I came to you because I hoped you might have some information for me. After you give me your answer I will leave and you will never see me ever again." Rias stood there, judging him. "Very well, walk with us then." Rias and Akeno led him towards an older building of the school.

He sat on the couch, Rias opposite him as Akeno poured them tea. "Clearly you are a stranger here, you will be received as any guest would." Rias said. "Now, ask your question." Issei sipped his tea and had to admit it was good. "What do you know of a girl named Yuuma Amano?" he asked. "She is a second year student. Clean record as far as I know, though you might have to ask Sona instead." Issei quirked an eyebrow. "Sona?"

"Sona Sitri. She runs the student council." Akeno sat down next to Rias. "Well, you will be interested to know she is a fallen angel then." Issei said. "Now that is interesting." Rias said. "Why are you after her?" Issei contemplated his words. "Because people want her dead." This immediately put the two girls across him on edge again. "And you are to be her executioner?" Akeno asked. "I haven't decided yet. If I can avoid the bloodshed I will."

"By no means I wish to defend a fallen angel, but out of curiosity. What is she guilty of?" "Four fallen angels went rogue. Azazel has had reports of them brewing the wrong kind of plans and associating with the wrong people. He would rather not test the limits and intervene before serious harm is caused. I suspect Yuuma is one of them, but I cannot act until I have found her allies. However, I will have to act fast. I fear Innocent blood will be spilled if I don't."

"So you are one of Azazel's people?" Rias asked. "No." Issei replied. He got up and walked to the center of the room, where he had plenty of space. "Oh, and Rias. I'd stay away from the derelict church on the edge of town tonight." In a brilliant display of colors ranging from gold to midnight to red he was gone. "I think he was kinda cute." Akeno said. Rias jokingly punched the arm of her Queen. "How improper. You barely met the guy. I think so too. He somehow seems familiar though."

The two girls sat in companionable silence. "I think we should convene a club meeting, I think a visit to church is long overdue, don't you agree Akeno?" The black haired girl giggled in response. "Absolutely, we can't let Issei have all the fun on his own now can we?" As if on cue Koneko and Kiba walked in. "Good. You are here. Akeno and I have planned a little excursion tonight…"


	2. Chapter 2

Good morning everyone, O'Ryaner here with the next chapter,

a few shout outs to my reviewers - you guys are amazing!

aGoldenLion: You will find out soon enough what Issei is (capable of)! I promise you :). First time someone reviewed within an hour of me uploading a chapter, and you are the first reviewer, which makes you extra special I guess. Thanks dude!

: Is the next day soon enough? Enjoy reading!

Kage no Kenshi: Thank you for the input man, I corrected the mistakes and sincerely hope I didn't miss one. You have my eternal gratitude for becoming my first proof reader.

the DragonBard: Well, that goes for showing how limited my knowledge about the DxD universe is :|. I don't think I'll be changing it around though, since there is a lot of unpublished story based on a few of those points. So I guess we will be calling those changes 'intentional'. Thank you regardless! I really do appreciate the review.

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><p><em>Earth – The abandoned church<em>

'_Well, here goes nothing.'_ Issei thought, mentally bracing himself. With a firm kick, he unhinged the two massive doors. Splinters flew everywhere as they collapsed. The church was surprisingly empty. Cautiously he made his way in. Maniacal laughter filled the once hallowed walls. "Look who walked into my little trap, hahaha!" Issei immediately pinpointed the source of the sound, but chose to humor the poor fool. "But you are not a devil, no. Regardless, I will still enjoy killing you!"

A man in a long white coat emerged from behind the altar. He made a mocking bow. "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Freed. Freed Sellzen. World's best exorcist." This clown really made it too easy. He would not kill Freed, that was not in his mandate. It, however, stated nothing about not harming him.

Rias, Akeno, Koneko and Kiba stood in the forest, perhaps a small hundred meters away from the church. "Well, look what we have here! Looks like Raynare was right to post us on guard duty after all. Nosy devils wanting to disrupt our party." Rias motioned for Koneko and Kiba to go. They had barely left when Rias and Akeno found themselves locked in an energy barrier with three fallen angels.

"Well then, Mittelt, Dohnaseek. What shall we do with these naughty devils?" Akeno giggled and Rias had a stupid grin on her face. "What's so funny?" The fallen angel asked. "I believe you should know one of our allies is already inside." Rias said. "Impossible! There is no way-" A blood curling wail of unimaginable anguish ripped through the night, originating from the church. Rias released a giggle akin to Akeno's. "My Queen, if you would do the honors?" Thunder sparked between Akeno's fingers. "It would be my pleasure." She said with a sultry smile, licking her fingers.

Kiba and Koneko were not ready for what they found in the church. Writhing in a pool of his own blood, a man lay. His arms and legs bent in perfect curves like his appendages lacked bones, The white of his clothes was disrupted by hundreds of pinprick sized holes, all of them slowly bleeding. Thousands of white needles were spread around the man, with him at the epicenter. Kiba looked down at the man, wide, frightened eyes staring back at him. "I don't know what happened to him, but it appears most painful, doesn't it, Koneko?" Kiba said. "…"

Issei found himself in a large underground chamber. A fallen angel with long black hair who Issei could only assume was Raynare stood on a platform. Asia was chained up next to her! Issei made to intervene, stepping out of the shadows. With a wave of her hand, Raynare extracted a green gemstone from Asia, who let out a pained scream before going limp. Holding it in her hand, Raynare turned to face the intruder.

"Oh, it's you!" She said with an unnatural enthusiasm. "I felt something off about you when you visited my church. It's of no consequence now. Whatever you are, you will die now!" Issei merely pointed a finger at her, breaking every bone in her body. The sudden overload of her nervous system caused her to give a pained yelp and faint. Her body collapsed on the floor with her arms and legs bent at unnatural angles. "Funny, you are weaker than your exorcist buddy upstairs. He is still conscious." He turned to the mass of exorcists in the room. "You can either leave now, or undergo the same fate as her!" Issei announced.

The four who chose to defy him were easily dispatched. Issei carefully retrieved Asia's sacred gear and returned it to its owner before snapping her chains and scooping her up in his arms. She no longer breathed. It was a shame such an innocent life had to end. He had failed her. Once again he had been too late to prevent such a loss of life, but he would rather not remember that fateful winter night.

Koneko and Kiba stood a little dumbfounded as they witnessed an army of a good hundred exorcists run by like God's fury was on their heels. A minute later, they saw a lean boy, perhaps sixteen years of age with icy blue eyes. A young blond girl, clothes tattered, within his arms as he carried her up the stairs bridal style. "Come." He said as he walked by. "Well Koneko, looks like you may find a friend in this guy, he is just as eloquent as you!" Kiba said, smiling. "…" Silently the white haired girl turned and walked after the man.

Rias and Akeno were patiently waiting for him. "Who is she?" Rias asked. Gesturing to the girl in his arms. "Hopefully someone you can save." Issei said. "Why would I save a stranger?" "She has a sacred gear that may prove useful to you. Twilight Healing. Her soul is pure and her spirit honest. She would make a good bishop." Rias looked at the pale girl, smothered so brutally in the beginning of her life. "What's in it for me?" She asked. "Always so egocentric." Issei muttered. "Fine. You have seen here what I am capable of." He dug into his pocket and removed a piece of paper. "This is a summoning circle. It's the only one in existence of this kind, because this circle summons me. Save her, and I will allow you to call upon me in a time of need."

Rias looked at the piece of paper he held out, weighing her options. Was she going to trust a stranger on his word? Granted, he was a powerful stranger, but a stranger nonetheless. Still she knew she recognized him. A face just out of reach, floating at the edge of her mind like a haunting dream. Rias took the leap of faith. "Fine." She took the paper from his hands and got to work.

"Hey." Issei turned to Akeno. "I must say I love what you did to the exorcist guy there." She gestured to Freed. "Very sexy." She giggled. "You can take him with you when you leave, have yourself a new play toy." Issei said, not paying her words much mind. "What did you do to him anyways?" "Shattered all the bones in his arms and legs and scattered the fragments with enough force to pierce through flesh and skin. It's not sexy, it's a skill I'm ashamed of, but one I'm good at." Akeno made a look of sympathy. "What did you do to the three stationed outside?"

"We reduced them to ashes!" Akeno said excitedly. "My god, Baraqiel's daughter. You are a true sadist at heart." He whispered to her. Immediately Akeno slapped a hand across his mouth. "Do not say his name here. He is no father of mine!" She replied in an angry whisper. Their attention was drawn to the blonde girl who suddenly sputtered to life again. "Where am I?" She asked in a frightened whisper. "Am I dead?" Tears were brimming in Asia's eyes.

"No. You have been saved." Rias said, tentatively embracing the girl. "Th… Thank you." Rias gestured to Issei. "You should thank him. He made me do it." Asia launched herself onto Issei, who was startled, but awkwardly returned the hug. "Don't thank me just yet, Asia. I'm afraid there was a catch to saving you. I think Rias could explain best, she is an expert on the subject." Issei gave her a meaningful glance.

She caught on. "Come, let's go outside." She said, gently touching Asia on the shoulder. Issei watched the two walk out the hole in the wall where the door had been. His eyes absently went across Rias's peerage. Her Queen, the sadistic daughter of Baraquiel. A girl, a latent natural power of senjitsu, perhaps Nekomata? She was cute. Perhaps in a time where his scars had not run so deep he would have harbored something petty like a crush for her. And a boy with striking eyes. He remembered those eyes. A flash of emition crossed Issei's face. Perhaps that night in his life hadn't been a complete catastrophe then. One soul had been saved at least. "Excuse me, this may sound like a weird question. Your eyes, they somehow seem familiar. Have we met before?" The boy with the blond hair asked. "No, you must be mistaken."

Asia and Rias walked back into the church, the expression of the former saddened. "I guess you are not as happy anymore now, are you?" Issei asked. "I understand what had to be done. I am still thankful." Asia said. She walked up to issei and tentatively pressed a kiss to his cheek, blushing like mad. "Now you lot should go, I have some business left to take care of here. Something I will not have you present for. Asia Argento, your soul shines bright, even with the taint of devil hood on it. if you ever find yourself in a need of me, talk to Rias. She will know what to do."

Issei turned back to the altar, heading for the underground chamber. "Wait." Rias said. Issei turned around and quirked an eyebrow at her. "I like the puzzle that is you. A hint perhaps?" Issei smiled, though it did not reach his eyes. He spread out his fourteen wings behind him, earning gasps of awe form everyone. "I am the splinter that grew." Issei announced. He gave Rias exactly seven seconds to observe, then turned and headed down the staircase.

Issei paused, waiting to make sure Rias and her peerage, along with their new member, had left. He felt the presence of their souls fading. He found the underground chamber as he had left it. He walked up to the body of Raynare, who was barely breathing by now. He focused on her fading soul, looking for any excuse, any reason not to have to kill her. End her like her three comrades. He found a soul surprisingly pure for someone of her… caliber. What had driven her to do these things?

He sighed, getting to work. He repositioned her arms and legs in positions that roughly resembled where they should be, were their bones not shattered. He focused and willed her bones to mend, healing her broken body. He felt something wet on his face, rolling down his cheek like a tear. He wiped it away, only to find the back of his hand stained with his blood. He had overexerted himself again. Well, there was nothing to do about it anymore now. Issei picked up the unconscious girl and flung her over his shoulder. "You are coming with me, little raven."


	3. Chapter 3

Hello everyone!

You guys truly are amazing, I don't think I have ever had quite so much animosity for any of my work before. Again I will do the shoutouts:

Titan034: I will keep that in mind whilst writing. Do keep in mind I already have the first 8 chapters or so done, so you will not start to see the change until after that :3.

: Thank you! I hope you enjoy this one as well.

Soundion: I definitely will, I'm glad you find the story pleasing so far!

DatGuitarGirl: Thanks so much! So far I haven't hit a writers block yet, so you can expect a lot more to come.

I know this is a bit of a short chapter, but I really couldn't say any more in here without thoroughly confusing the reader. The next one is longer, I promise! Enjoy chapter 3!

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><p><em>The City – Nighttime<em>

Rias, Akeno, Kiba, Koneko and Asia were walking away from the church. "Buchou, I swear I recognized that boy." Kiba said. "I know, Kiba. I also have a feeling I have seen him before." "You still have to admit he is cute though." Akeno interjected. "I think Akeno has a crush." Rias teased. "Noooo, I saw him first!" Asia complained, blushing furiously. The two continued to bicker when Kiba walked up to Rias. "Buchou, I will be retiring for the night." Rias nodded and watched her knight walk off.

The four remaining devils carried on. "Buchou." Koneko tugged on Rias's sleeve. "What is it, my cute Rook?" Koneko was silent for a moment, ensuring the other two were still too busy with one another to pay attention to them. "My Nekomata side senses something off about him." Rias faked surprise. "What do you mean? Someone with fourteen wings more than Michael himself mind you, all in different colors, shows up and clears a church full of exorcists in a small ten minutes is not normal?" "… That's not what I meant," Koneko replied. "Senjitsu is fueled by emotion and manipulates any it finds. Everyone feels, I sense Kiba feel, I sense Akeno, I sense you. Everyone." "What are you implying?" Rias asked. "Not him. He didn't feel. Except briefly when he looked at Kiba." Deigning that all she had to say on the matter, Koneko said her goodbyes and went home.

"Asia." Rias said, finally deciding to break the two girls apart. "I don't suppose you have a place to stay for tonight. If you wish, I have a place for you." Asia blushed and bowed her head. "That would be most kind of you… master." Rias frowned. "Not master. In my peerage, everyone is equal. We use the Occult Research Club in our school as our cover, so you may refer to me as Buchou, or President."

A bit later Akeno wished Rias a good night as well, leaving Asia alone with Buchou. "You will be staying in our clubhouse tonight. It's warm and we have a spare bed. It's late and you are just newly reincarnated. You must rest and we will talk of your future tomorrow."

After Rias tucked in her new bishop, she opened up a teleportation circle and headed for the underworld. She had a little research to do. The archives were exactly as she remembered them. A grand building, rows upon rows of pillars under the red sky. Perhaps a thousand by a thousand paces. A grand dome rested in the center of the building's roof.

The Archivist was on the same place she always was and most likely would be for the foreseeable future. She greeted Rias warmly. "Lady Gremory. It has been a while since you last visited." "Indeed it has, Lady Archivist. I would have announced my visit hadn't the need for it arisen so suddenly." The Archivist smiled. "It is of no consequence, Lady Gremory. How can the archives be of service to you?"

"I am looking for information on a person. Most likely an angel. Perhaps one of old." The Archivist nodded. "Of course. Do you have a name, or an alias?" "Yes. He called himself 'the splinter that grew'." The Archivist frowned. "I have never heard of that one before. I know almost all the names of angels of old. You should try the newly reincarnated section. Row ninety-six, subsection D." Rias bowed. "Thank you Lady Archivist."

Rias dug for hours, finding absolutely nothing. She was engrossed in a copy of _theoretical reincarnation of demi angelic souls_ when the chair across from her moved. Startled she looked up to find her brother, Sirzechs Gremory, strongest Maou and the Crimson Lucifer, sitting down across her. "What are you doing here?" Rias asked. "I should ask you the same thing. My little sister is in the underworld and she doesn't even visit her brother?" Rias sighed, turning her eyes back to page four-hundred-sixty-one. "I presumed you were busy, I wasn't gonna stay long, but it turns out the task I set out to do is a tad tougher than I had assumed."

"Tell me." Sirzechs said. "I am looking for information about 'the splinter who grew'." His expression darkened. "Where did you hear that name?" "It's not of any importance-" "It is, Rias. Where did you hear that name?" She looked back at her brother with an equally defiant glare. "You will tell me all you know of him in return, agreed?" A silent battle of wills was fought until finally Sirzechs relented. "Fine."

"A boy came to my town looking for a fallen angel. I helped him as best I could, given the circumstances. He hunted them down to an abandoned church, where he brutally maimed at least one person and chased off a small army of exorcists. Then he dropped a dead church girl with _Twilight Healing_ at my feet and instructed me to revive her as my bishop."

"Did you do it?" Sirzechs asked. "Yes, in exchange for this." She produced the summoning circle and handed it to him. Sirzechs immediately dropped the paper as if it burned his hands. He silently swore, rubbing his hurt fingers. "Well, at least that confirms its authentic." He groaned. "Spill." Rias said.

Sirzechs sighed. "A deal is a deal. Follow me, little sister. Here is not the place to speak of this." Ten minutes later Rias sat across her brother in his luxurious office. "There is a secret very few people are aware of. It's a secret so ugly, it could change the face of this world in a single sentence. And it's also the reason you are here. Therefore I must ask you to keep this conversation within these four walls." Rias nodded in understanding. "I am ready."

"God is dead." She had not been ready for that. "How is that possible. Wouldn't the world have ended with his death?" Rias asked with a shocked voice. "In the last conflict, the one which also claimed the four original Maou, God perished. The Seraph now rule heaven under Michael's lead. Somehow they keep the system working, but it's only a shadow of its former self."

"It was said, that when God perished, nothing but a single feather of his wing remained. From that feather, something grew. Not God himself, but rumor has it that perhaps, given enough time, he will be a worthy successor of the throne. His powers are extraordinary and supposedly outrank everything else this planet has left. His more common alias is 'the Hand of God'." Rias took a moment to process all this. "Well, he outranks Azazel and Michael for sure. He has fourteen wings." She said. "How do you know that?!" Sirzechs exclaimed, disbelievingly. Rias looked at him with an 'Are you so dense?' expression. "I asked him of course. At least your story explains why he is called 'the splinter that grew'."

"Rias." Sirzechs said. "This," he gestured to the paper, careful not to touch it again, "is something extraordinary. It's a gift, a time bomb and answers to unfathomable questions on a single sheet. Use it wisely." Rias nodded. "Of course, brother."

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><p>And a happy new year!<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Hello everyone, we are keeping the rigorous update schedule going! Only expect it to last throughout the coming week though. University studies will commence after that again. I hope you all had a great new year's eve. I know I did! (the after party is still going) Ejoy this chapter!

Shoutouts:

Dasher911: Although I can't tell you without spoiling the story, I might or might not be able to tell you that perhaps something of the sort will be coming up. I, of course, could also be lying.

Soundion: That is the point of cliffhangers isn't it? To keep you coming back for more ;)

Guest: I'm glad you can appreciate the story so far!

: Thx for copy pasting the same comment again! I really do appreciate you showing you care so keep on pasting ;).

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><p><em>Heaven – The throne of Michael<em>

"It is done." Issei said, kneeling before Michael, who nodded in acknowledgement. "Tell me, Hyoudou. What are you planning with your prisoner?" "Her soul was surprisingly pure for a fallen angel. I'm planning to see if I can reverse the effect of falling." "You know it isn't possible to reverse falling. It's one of the first things we teach to both newborn and reincarnated angels." Michael replied. "Perhaps, but I have a gut feeling that this is the right thing to do."

"Do as you please, but she will not be allowed into heaven." Issei nodded. "Will that be all?" "No." Michael said to his surprise. "I found my sister crying again after you left." He started. Issei sighed, dreading where this conversation was headed. They had danced around the touchy subject a hundred times before. "Although it's none of my business what goes on in your private lives, I wish you would at least look her in the eyes from time to time."

The staring contest had gone on long enough. It was time Issei spoke his mind. "With all due respect, _Michael_." Issei said in a cutting voice, purposely not using titles or honorifics. "The transgression that _all_ of you made, under the lead of your sister, is unforgivable on so many levels, it surprises me the Seraph have not fallen yet. My new prisoner has a soul ten times as pure as all of you put together."

The air grew heavy, laden with power as both men strained to retain their composure. "Out of my sight." Michael said in heavy breathing. "With. Pleasure." Issei stood, unfurling his fourteen wings, just to show the bastard across him who was _really_ in charge here. Then he abruptly turned and left.

Michael would crash and burn soon enough. Issei knew. He knew the system was being strained beyond its limits, slowly caving. Even now heaven had to make… less than honorable moves from time to time to control the decay as much as possible. He would not stand for it any longer. When the time came, he would do what he could for the world. Perhaps he could create a more stable system. Only time would tell. Regardless, he was done playing Michael's assassin.

_Meanwhile in the Occult Research Club_

"Riser, for the last time, I won't marry you!" Rias shouted. The blond haired boy merely laughed it off. "I'm afraid you don't have a choice. You will marry me and you will spread your legs for the good of the underworld as you should. Rias. Gremory." He spat out her name like it was a sour venom. Akeno, Asia, Kiba and Koneko awkwardly sat in the couch opposite the two as the scene unfolded.

"Watch, Rias dear." Riser said, walking behind the couch. Out of a yellow teleportation circle a full peerage of sixteen, all in uniform, emerged. "Even if you were to try to fight it. You can't. What will your… pathetic, measly five pieces do against the full force of my full set? The only one who can fight on par is your Queen." Riser walked up to his own Queen and shared a tongue kiss with her, then smiled at Rias wickedly. "Now you will be coming to the underworld with me, lest there be consequences."

"Out." Rias said, her voice full poison. "Now, now, dear." Riser said in a mocking voice. "Out!" Rias shouted at the top of her lungs, blasting the floor in front of Riser's feet away with her destruction magic. Riser merely chuckled. "All right darling. Pack your bags, I will return in an hour for you." Riser said and gestured for his peerage to follow him out the door. Rias stood frozen until the door clicked shut behind Risers last pawn.

A single tear slid down her cheek. "If you will excuse me." She said in a wavering voice, before heading into a teleportation circle of her own. "I'm sorry for this mess. Especially for you, Asia. You should get to know us on our best behavior." Akeno said. "I will go find her, I think I know where she is."

Sure enough, Akeno found Rias over at the Gremory manor, up high in the mountains. She was perched on a ledge in one of the pavilions overlooking the mountains and forests beyond the grounds of the house. Akeno sat down next to her, but said nothing.

The two of them sat there for a good twenty minutes in complete silence. "This is it, Akeno. Forty minutes from now my life is officially over. We can't fight him. I love the five of you with all my heart, but we can't take on his full peerage with so many pieces untaken." Tears flowed down Rias's cheeks as she looked down on her eight pawn pieces, her remaining rook piece and her remaining knight piece. Akeno got up and embraced her King. "You know you have the solution to your problem in your pocket, right?"

"I would not use it for such a selfish purpose." Rias said. "What other, more worthy, future purpose will there be if you don't stop this madness right now?" Akeno asked. Rias chewed her lip in indecision. "What if he hates me for it, Akeno?" Akeno had an exasperated look on her face. "Not you too." She silently begged. "Hey, I can't help it he is so damn cute!"

_Issei's safehouse_

He turned on the lights, taking in the interior of the room. It was small. A bed on one corner, a small kitchen in another. A couch and TV in the third corner, with the bathroom door between the bed and the kitchen. He walked over to the bed and looked at the girl who lay on it. "Wake up, little raven." He said in a sing song voice. No response. He raised his head and slapped her full across the check. Again, no response. Dammit. He felt something tug on his mind. Very well, the blackbird would have to wait.

He found himself in the Occult Research Club, where he silently materialized in a shadow filled corner. Five figures were gathered around an elaborate pattern, drawn out on the ground. It was an attempt to recreate his circle. They did an excellent job overall, but they messed up a few of the runes. Luckily the summon was linked to the paper and the paper alone. Perhaps he should have mentioned that. "Do you think he is coming?" One of them whispered.

Issei silently walked up to Rias, leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Who are we waiting for?" Rias jumped, emitting a girly scream. "You are supposed to appear inside the circle!" She shouted. "Oh. I'm sorry." With two large steps he stood in the middle of the circle. "Alright, what now?"

Rias sighed at the peculiarity of it all. "Short version?" She asked. "That will suffice." "I am being forced into a marriage with an asshole douchebag and I want you to win my freedom in a one on one duel with him." Issei blinked. "Is that all?" He asked, a little surprised. "Yes. In fact, if he is really that precise about his timing, he will be arriving in 4…3…2…1…" "Hello Rias, are you ready to depart?" Riser said as the door flung open. Riser barged in, followed by his peerage.

"Aw, you invited a friend over. How cute." Riser said mockingly. Issei pointed a finger at the man and questioningly looked at Rias, who nodded. "You talk too much." Issei said. "Rias, do you not expect your friends to have any manners anymore?" Issei reached out with his hand and forced Riser's jaw together. "I said, you talk too much." "You ignorant moron! Do you not realize you are talking to the heir of the house of Phen-" Everyone in the room cringed when Risers teeth smashed together again with more force. "Did I fucking stutter?" At that moment another summoning circle opened.

"Grayfia, what are you doing here?" Rias asked. "Is there a problem, Rias Gremory, Riser Phenex? You were expected in the underworld forty minutes ago." "I will not marry that asshole!" Rias shouted. "Hell yes you will!" Riser shouted back. Within moments the air in the room filled with power as spells of pain and destruction were woven by the two teenagers. "Stop this." Grayfia said, raising her hand.

Immediately the room quieted down. "My master foresaw this outcome and gave me a means to settle this debate once and for all. If you will not go peacefully, this will be settled with a rating game." Rias made to protest, but Issei raised a finger, silencing her. "Did your master state which peerages had to participate?" The woman in maids costume had a baffled expression on her normally stoic face. "No, he didn't. Why is that of consequence?" "I will participate as Rias's peerage."

Grayfia blinked twice, uncertain about the situation, but nodded. "You? A boy against my whole set? Haha! This will be easier than I thought. I will have my Queen warm your side of the bed for you honey." Riser said in a mocking voice. "Rias Gremory do you agree with these terms?" Rias looked back and forth between Riser and Issei. "I… We… But… Yes. I agree." "Riser Phenex, do you agree with these terms?" "But of course!" He laughed. "Then it's settled. The rating game will take place tomorrow at dawn."


	5. Chapter 5

Hello everyone!

Shoutouts:

aGoldenLion: It's gonna depend on two things: How much buffer do I have (currently about 15k words) and how many exams will be happening in the next two weeks. My guess would be somewhere between every 4-7 days, although I might feel like writing a whole chapter on a day sometimes.

Soundion: Yum... roasted chicken :3

Nintendoesgamer: Thanks man! I definitely will.

: Magnificent comment, please write more soon.

DatGuitarGirl: your hours of waiting have come to an end. Enjoy!

* * *

><p><em>Flashback<em>

Present narrative

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><p><em>Alternate Rating Game Dimension – ORC clubroom<em>

Issei sat in a meditative trance, focusing himself. It would be five more minutes until the rating game started. Five minutes for Riser to finish his 'plans' and finalize is strategy. He felt the weight of the knife in his hand. It would be the only weapon he took with him into this fight. A blade exactly thirty-six centimeters long with the center of gravity positioned two thirds of the length of the blade down. He knew his weapon like no other, for it was he himself who had forged it. He remembered the hours preceding the game.

"_I talked to my brother. Is it true you are the Hand of God?" Rias asked. "Ah yes, Sirzechs always was a bit loose lipped about these things. I shouldn't be surprised." He had responded. "Yes, I am the one who they call the Hand of God. I thought you would take a little longer to figure it out, but you kind of cheated by asking your brother." _

"_Oh, it was he who came to me actually." At that moment Kiba and Koneko had entered the ORC clubroom. "I hope you know what you are doing. I would not see Buchou's future go down the drain because you don't know what you are doing." Kiba had said, giving a formal bow. "Kiba!" Issei had raised his hand. "No, it's quite alright Rias. It's good to have such vigilant friends about you. He has honor."_

"_Did the two of you need anything else?" Issei asked. "…" Koneko blushed furiously and walked off. That was strange. "Kiba?" "I…" Kiba hesitated, uncertain whether to ask the question. "Come on, talk. I won't bite… probably." Kiba had smiled at the added commet. "I was hoping you could spar with me."_

"_I would be honored, but why me?" "You appear to be a formidable opponent. I would enjoy measuring my skill with yours." A lie. Issei sensed it immediately but didn't push. "Very well. I believe earth children have no school today, am I correct?" Rias nodded. "Very well, shall we head out to the field then?"_

Grayfia's voice echoed through the fake dimension. "The game has started. Pawns please move towards the opponent's base to promote. The game ends when the opposing king dies or surrenders. Good luck."

Issei walked out to the replica of the field. Standing there with his arms spread, waiting for Risers peerage to show up. This would be an enjoyable fight. He twirled the blade in his hand, feeling it's perfect balance. People always forgot it wasn't the type of weapon you fought with that mattered, it was how well you fought with it. He could have gone into this fight barehanded and won. Three of Risers pawns moved onto the field, along with one of his knights and a rook.

"Riser-sama said this would be easy. Let's kill him girls!" The rook said. "Disassembly Time!" Two of the pawns shouted, before pulling out chainsaws and throwing themselves at Issei.

_He dodged Kiba's first strike. "Very good, Kiba. Fast." Kiba turned and swung his blade across Issei's chest. Issei merely backstepped and touched the tip of his blade to the side of Kiba's neck before he could recover. "Clumsy, Kiba. Don't underestimate your opponent because he is armed with less steel than you are."_

"One pawn, Riser, Retired." The other chainsaw twin watched in horror as her counterpart's head made a graceful arc through the sky, before it, along with the body dematerialized. "You bastard!" She shouted and threw herself at him with renewed fury.

"_Control your strikes Kiba. You were taught better than this." He dodged strike after strike, utilizing the gaping holes in Kiba's defense to jab, push and punch him with his bare other hand. Strikes that could have been fatal if he had wished them to be._

"Two pawns, one knight, Riser, retired."

"_Why do I see your eyes in my dreams every night?!" Kiba suddenly shouted. "Kiba. This is not the time. Focus on the here and now!" With a carnal shout Kiba threw his sword at Issei in a futile hope to surprise his opponent. "As you wish. We will fight unarmed." Issei said, tossing his knife to the side. Kiba was fast. Not surprising considering he was a knight. But he was not fast enough. Issei blocked two strikes before delivering a firm strike to his sternum, leaving Kiba gasping for air._

"One rook, Riser, retired."

Issei walked on, heading for the large building across the sports fields, twirling the perfectly balanced knife in his hands. He heard a twig snap in the brushes to his right. He stood motionless, concentrating on his hearing. Soft footsteps, they were certainly there, sneaking around in the greenery. He focused, breathed and with a single, fluid motion, threw the knife.

"One bishop, Riser, retired."

Deciding he would retrieve the knife later, he walked on. After years of training Issei didn't need weapons to disable or kill his opponents. A sizzle of power in the air alerted him. Quickly he rolled, narrowly avoiding a blast from the person who was presumably Riser's Queen. His eyes scanned the night sky, looking for her.

Another blast. This time Issei caught the bolt in his hands and returned it to its owner. He watched in satisfaction as the magic reached home, blasting the devil out of the air. She got up, coughing. "Impossible! You should not be able to catch my wildfire!" "Honey," Issei said, walking up to the scorched woman, "if you think your flame burns bright, try angelfire!" He accumulated the blue flame in his hands and smashed it into her skull.

An unnatural cry sounded from Risers Queen as her body started to disintegrate. Her body fell apart as sheer magic ripped it to shreds, burning her from the inside out. The chunks on the ground combusted in blue-white fire, erasing all signs of her once being present.

"One Queen, Riser, retired."

_Issei turned invisible._ _"Where did you go, you coward!" Kiba shouted. Issei delivered a firm push to the knight's shoulder blades, sending him stumbling. "All is fair in love and war, Kiba. You will soon fail your King if the only sense you rely on is vision."_

"One Knight, Riser, retired."

_Kiba was beating about himself wildly, trying to make something, anything happen to hurt Issei. To say he was failing would be an understatement. Issei knew something was off with Kiba. He would not have lived as long as he did had he always fought like this._

"Six pawns, Riser, Retired."

"_Kiba! For heaven's sake. If you have a quarrel with me, this is not the way to handle it." Issei had said, deciding this game was over. In rapid succession he jabbed five of Kiba's pressure points. The knight fell to the ground, no longer in control of his arms and legs. He dropped the invisibility, standing over the fallen devil. "Now tell me what is bothering you."_

"One rook, Riser, Retired."

_Kiba growled something into the dirt. Issei sympathized and turned the boy over on his back. "I didn't quite catch that." Issei said. "I remember where I saw you. You were there that night, three years ago you were there. I heard your voice and when I ran, I saw your eyes." Issei's blood turned cold. "Listen to my voice. You do not remember that night, Kiba. You will speak no more of this. This fight is over."_

_He left the blond haired boy in the dirt, turning away from him. "Come back here you bastard! I am not done with you yet!" Kiba yelled. He returned to Rias. "He will regain control of his limbs in a few hours. We should leave for the underworld. I need time to prepare." Lie. But he would deal with Kiba later. He was not yet ready for the truth, and quite honestly, neither was Issei._

He found Riser, spectating from a rooftop above. Issei spread his wings and landed on the other side of the roof. A small girl with hair the exact same color blond as Riser's was cowering behind him. His sister perhaps? "Do you surrender, Riser?" Laughter filled the air. "I am a Phenex! You cannot kill me, therefore you cannot defeat me!"

Issei sighed and reached out with his mind. Riser collapsed in agony as all the bones in his body started deforming, moving like boils under his skin. With a bored face Issei sat down. "Let me know when you are ready to give in. I can keep this up for a while." He bluffed.

The scene lasted twelve excruciatingly long seconds. "Stop! Stop this!" The girl begged, throwing herself across Riser's body. "I, Ravel Phenex, surrender on behalf of my brother!" Issei released his hold. Riser went limp, whimpering indiscernible words. "He should be up and about in a few minutes, I caused no lasting harm." Issei assured the girl.

Meanwhile in the spectating room, Issei had an audience. "Is that him?" Sirzechs asked his sister, watching as the boy emerged from the ORC clubroom and proceeded to the sports field. "Yes. I really do hope he knows what he is doing." The whole ORC was watching the fight, save Kiba. For some unknown reason Rias's Knight was groveling in a corner, probably licking his wounds. He had not lost a duel in quite some time, as far as Rias knew.

Asia gasped in horror as she watched Issei being surrounded by four girls. A Knight, A Rook and two Pawns. Rias and Sirzechs were fascinated as he leaped into action, decimating his opponents using nothing but a simple knife. Something sparkled in Koneko's eyes as she watched him fight. Akeno was looking at the game like a child with her nose pressed up against the glass of a candy shop. Across the room the Phenex family was watching with complex expressions as their prided heir was being owned.

So it went on for a while, Issei dispatching one opponent after the other. Rias's breath caught as he was at last matched against the Phoenix himself. She was both relieved and disappointed as Issei won the game with about as much effort as snapping his fingers. It was rather anticlimactic after all. She realized he was ruthless. There was no long monologue, no epic fight to the death, no heroics. If Issei played in a movie, he was the kind of guy who would pull the trigger regardless when the bad guy tried to save his hide through some cliché 'but-wait-there-is-more'-speech.

"Riser Phenex retired, Rias Gremory is victorious." Grayfia finally announced.

The patriarch of the house of Phenex approached her brother. Through gritted teeth he forced out the formal words. "Your… peerage… fought well. It was a good fight." Before Sirzechs had the chance to reply the man turned on his feet, heading back to his people. At that moment Issei and Riser rematerialized in the room. "You saved me!" Rias shouted, throwing her arms around Issei. He briefly returned the hug, before pushing her off him.

Blood was welling up from under his fingernails, running down his face like tears and trickling out of his nose. "You are hurt!" Rias said with a shocked expression. "It's nothing." Issei said, wiping away the blood on his face. "It's a side effect of my magic." He offered no further explanation. Someone cleared his throat. Rias and Issei turned to see it was Sirzechs. "Might I have a moment of your time?" he kindly asked.

Issei nodded and followed the Crimson Lucifer across the room, where they engaged in a hushed conversation. Rias saw Kiba was still huddled away in a corner. "Kiba! Come over here." The boy looked up with a tired expression and stumbled over to her with lifeless steps. "Aren't you happy your King is free, my cute Knight?" Rias asked with a concerned voice.

A few metres over Riser groaned as he regained some coherency. "Rias, I know where we both remember him from." Kiba said, gesturing to Issei. "He was there when-" "You bitch!" Riser shouted. Everyone turned to face him as he manifested the fire of the Phoenix itself in his hands. "He won't have you if I can't! I will turn you all to ashes!" Issei and Sirzechs looked up as well now, their conversation rudely interrupted.

When the flame left Riser's hands it was headed for none other than Rias herself. Issei immediately bounded into action. With a speed that would make any Knight jealous he leaped across the room, unfurling his wings. Issei's eyes briefly locked with Kiba's as his wings reached around the five members of Rias's peerage. Issei's teeth cringed together as the fire with the heat of a thousand suns burned through all his protective wards like they were nothing. He felt the flesh of his back, the feathers on his wings melt, then go completely numb. Behind him he heard Riser collapse after such an expenditure of power. Then the darkness took him as well.


	6. Chapter 6

Hello everyone. A quick update this time. Next chapter will be a little short so think of this as compensation.

This chapter may finally offer some insight and answers for you guys. Enjoy!

Shoutouts:

: Magnificent comment. Please write more soon.

DatGuitarGirl: Yeeeees. It hapeneeeeeed. But he is not deaaaaaaad quite yeeeeeeeeet ;)

LightningSquall: how about this 4k chapter then? ;)

Primordial champion13: I am honored you would say that. I will try my best to make that statement stand.

Guest: no i guess you didnt ;)

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><p><em>Underworld - Rating Game Spectating Room<em>

"Issei!" The collective shouts of Asia, Koneko, Rias and Akeno echoed through the room. "He is still breathing! Get help, quick!" Srizechs commanded. Not a minute later, Issei was on a stretcher, being carried across the expanse of the Underworld, with Rias, her peerage, and Sirzechs in tow. His back was charred, as well as his fourteen wings, which hung lifelessly from his back. Nothing of their original splendor, strength, or color remained.

White streaked across the sky, arcing down to the ground. "Gabriel." Sirzechs said, his expression dark. Soon her white robes flowed across the cracked ground of the underworld. "What happened? The shift of power was felt all the way into Heaven and it originated right here. Are you plotting a war against us? The Seraph demand an explanation right now!"

Then she noticed who was on the gurney. "Issei!" She cried in agony, rushing to his side. "My love what have they done to you?" She cried. Asia, Rias and Akeno groaned. "Not another one." They cried. "Why is he not in anshara?" Gabriel asked worriedly.

"Hell if I know, now get the hell out of here so we can get him to a hospital!" Rias shouted, pushing Gabriel out of the way, who fell to the ground. She remained there, kneeling on the ground as she watched her love be carried away, followed by the group of devils. "What is anshara?" Gabriel turned to see Sirzechs standing behind her. "And why are you here, Gabriel? I should kill you where you stand."

The doctors labored on Issei for hours. But Issei was a unique creature. Without any knowledge of what medicines or procedures would help, they were confined to the removal of dead tissue and cleaning of wounds. Now Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Asia and Kiba sat around the bed of the unconscious angel.

It was not looking good. Issei's breathing noticeably shallowed over time, his skin turned a color close to ashen and he was sweating profusely. Something fundamentally changed within Rias right there. She was not going to idly sit by as she watched the person who saved her twice now die. "What are you doing, Rias?" Akeno asked, as she watched Rias rummage around. "I will not sit here and watch him die, Akeno." She took out her eight pawn pieces, her knight piece and her rook piece. "You can't resurrect a full angel, Rias. Stop this madness, you will only cause harm." Akeno said in a futile attempt to stop her king.

"He will die regardless if I don't do something!" With that she gathered up all the pieces and smashed them into Issei's chest.

_The Dark_

Akeno, Rias, Koneko, Asia and Kiba found themselves in a void of darkness. They stood on something, so there probably was a floor. If there was one, however, it couldn't be told from the rest of the… whatever place they were in. Continuous whispers floated through the dark. Most of them indiscernible. Every once in a while a few words would spike out.

_Fight the darkness, fight the __silence__._

"Where are we?" Akeno asked, walking a few paces in each direction, seeing if it would influence their surroundings in any way. "I don't know. The last thing I remember was Rias trying to use her evil pieces on Issei…" Kiba replied. "… and then we were here." Rias finished, looking around her with a sense of wonder.

_It's better if I don't, but what if I do?_

_Are we dying?_

"Do you think Issei made this place?" Akeno asked. She fired a bolt of thunder, which flew on into the nothingness around them. "Regardless if he did, I don't like this place." Rias replied. "I want out..." Asia whimpered.

_We must not feel. To feel is to hurt. To hurt is to be weak. To be weak is to fail._

"Ok Rias, that's it. When we get out of here, I'm telling Sirzechs never to trust you with evil pieces ever again and take away your remaining ones." Akeno said. "Koneko, you have been quiet so far. What do you think?" Rias said, ignoring Akeno's comment. "…" Rias huffed, discontent with the lack of input her Rook gave. "Guys, do you notice something?" Kiba asked. "The voices stopped…" Koneko said.

"Hello." They all swirled around. Issei stood behind them, clad in grey clothes. "Issei!" Rias said, rushing over to him. She stopped a few paces short. "How did you heal so quickly?" She asked when she noticed he had no wounds. "I am not Issei." Was the curt reply. "But you look exactly like him! If you are not Issei, then who are you?"

"I am, or rather used to be, Faith." "What is that supposed to mean?" Rias asked. "I am… used to be the embodiment of Issei's faith." "Where are we?" The emoticlone tapped on the side of his head. "Welcome to the vast expanse of my… our mind." "There are more of you?" Faith didn't respond, instead he turned and walked. "Come with me."

The members of the ORC briefly exchanged glances before following the gray suited boy. Six more gray clad Issei's fell into step next to them. The darkness around them began to change, molding to a form. A meeting room with twelve seats.

"Sit." They did as instructed. "You are probably wondering why you are here." Faith said. "I will keep it short, for time is limited. We," he gestured to himself and the other six Isseis, "are dying. Though the damage dealt to our body is substantial, it's not irreparable… under normal circumstances. Like higher class devils have the ability to heal themselves or their servants from grave wounds in sleep, angels can heal too. We enter a meditative state called _anshara_, in which we can swiftly regenerate our bodies, but are very vulnerable."

Faith paused for a moment, letting the information sink in. "A_nshara's_ strength, is determined by the selfless love an angel feels. That is why Issei… we are not regenerating right now." Rias frowned. "But everyone feels selfless love of some kind. Even we devils do." "Not Issei." Koneko's word's echoed in her mind _"not him. He feels nothing."_

"So we are trapped in Issei's mind, while he is dying and there is no way he is gonna save himself. That's the short version, right?" Kiba asked. "Pretty much." One of the unnamed emoticlones said. "We used to be Issei's seven base emotions." Faith said, "we are Ego, Fear, Joy, Anger, Selflessness and Love." Faith said, going down the grey Issei clones. "Throughout his life, Issei shut us out one by one. If you had known him in his glory days… That time is behind us now. Issei has forgotten the power of feeling. He doesn't realize this, but we… his unconscious does."

"He used to visit us so often…" Selflessness said dreamily. "Your evil pieces will fail, Rias Gremory." Faith said. "If you want to save him, you will have to make Issei feel again. Only then can he enter _anshara_ again. Do you wish to help?" Faith asked. "Yes." Rias, Akeno and Asia said in unison. "… Yes." Koneko followed a bit later. Kiba grumbled something. "The asshole still owes me answers."

"Very good. Before we allow you to talk to the conscious us, we would share a few memories with you, to help you understand why we are in our current state." Rias nodded. "Please know, should you fail, you will be locked in this oblivion forever. And we will not be here anymore to get you out." "Really, Rias. No more evil pieces for you after this." Akeno said. "Are you ready?" Unexpectedly Koneko walked up to Love and grabbed his wrist. "… We will save you."

The darkness twisted around them once more, turned a bright hue of blue. The ground under their feet turned a bright fluffy white. Heaven. Laughter filled their ears. Around them angelic children played and shouted, running and flying around, happy. Amidst the jumble of children stood a lonely boy, six or seven years of age perhaps. His hair was messy, his body frail, but when you looked in his eyes it was unmistakably Issei.

A stray soccer ball rolled to his feet. Issei reached down and picked it up. "Hey! What are you doing? Give our ball back!" One of the kids shouted, running over. Issei handed the ball to him. "Can I play too?" He asked in a shy tone. "Who would want to be seen with a freak like you?" The boy said in disdain, then ran back to his friends. Issei looked so sad, but no one reached out, no one cared. He didn't matter.

"_And so Ego was locked away" _Faith's voice sounded.

The scenery around them twisted again. They were in a dark place. Issei, now slightly older, was huddled away in a corner. He was locked. Stuck in the darkness. No one would think to come look for him, Issei had no friends. Oh, how he feared the darkness. He knew within reason of course nothing could be there, but his mind still projected his fears onto his senses.

They would put him here, Michael and the others. Every time he stepped out of line they would throw him in here. They feared him, he knew. They would drug him up, spike his anxiety and make him live through hours of nightmares. Fear was such a useless emotion. It shut out everything else, completely disabled a person. How much easier life would be without fearing. Next time Michael locked him up, he would not fear the darkness!

"_And so Fear was locked away" _Faith's voice sounded.

Once again the shadows around them twisted. A quant house, start of autumn, the leaves hued in bright colors around them. Laughter, clear like droplets of water on a mirror, clear like a crystal. It was Issei's laughter. Issei, now perhaps thirteen or fourteen, rubbed the hair on the hair of a young boy. The child had fox ears and a tail. "You really do take after you parents. Where did you leave your sister?" A young girl with jet black hair bounded out of the house behind the two. "Issei!" The girl shouted, throwing herself at him, knocking him to the ground.

"Kuroka! How you have grown. It's been so long…" A woman in the later stages of pregnancy followed Kuroka out of the house. "Young lady! You have been taught better than that" With a pouty face, she got off Issei, who nimbly hopped to his feet and brushed the dirt off his clothes. "It's good to see you again." He said, carefully embracing the mother. "Have you thought of a name for your child yet?" he inquired. "Yes… Shirone." The mother replied dreamily, gently running a hand over the swell of her stomach.

The family was happy. Issei would not feel such happiness, ever. Nobody cared about him, only his skills, after all. But he valued his bond with them more than anything else. He had saved the life of the father, Helion, countless times, saw him grow up, take his woman and create a legacy for his children. He remembered the wedding like yesterday. It was a joyous occasion and Issei could feel the happiness he couldn't experience himself through them.

The scenery shifted again. It was now winter. Something was wrong. All the windows in the house had been shattered, some of the woodwork showed signs of charring. That wasn't what mattered though. Red seeped through the snow. In the middle of the shattered remains of the parents lay three children, bleeding out. Issei trotted over, kneeling next to the oldest child, the boy. He whispered words of comfort to him as his breathing shallowed, eventually stopped.

Bitterness filled him as he realized the two girls would meet the same fate. He turned away from the house. Nothing but death reigned here now. Never again would he hear their laughter. Nor would anyone hear his.

"_And so Joy was locked away." _Faith said.

The snow started to rage around them in a storm, hiding their surroundings between a blanked of pure white. "What did you do?!" Issei's voice radiated fury. The blanket of white lifted to reveal Issei, standing over the cowering form of a devil. "I… I only wished to get the best out of my servants…" the man stuttered apologetically. "You tortured them into submission!" Issei said, the last word rising to an ear shattering cry. "You tried to turn a power loose not you or they can control. Do you know what the possible consequences are of forcing Nekomata to use their powers? You call that getting the best out of your servants?"

"I… I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" "No, of course you didn't. I have watched over those children since their birth. Do you realize what you have done?" The man tried to crawl away from Issei, who gave him a firm kick to assure he stayed put. "You turned them into killers! You took two innocent souls and twisted them till they broke! You chased them off! It will be a miracle of its own if I ever manage to get back on their tracks. Never in my three hundred year long life have I met someone as despicable as you!"

"I assure you it won't happen again-" " Oh it won't!" Issei said in a voice cold as ice. In his hands he manifested pure power and struck, smiting the man from existence. Nothing but a pile of ash remained before Issei's feet.

Issei hopped out the window, resting on the ledge outside. He felt sick to the core. Things should not have gotten out of hand like that. Issei doubled over and threw up. The vomit plummeted down to the abyss beneath him. He had just killed a man and achieved nothing through it. Nothing was learned, no progress was gained. He had killed because it made him feel better.

Through the open window he heard the door open. Quickly he moved along the ledge so to remain undetected. "Oh my god, she killed him. Kuroka killed her master!" This was bad, very bad. Kuroka and her sister would be declared rogue now. Shirone was such a cute little girl. He had barely known her. The last time he had seen her was right after her birth, when her mother had insisted he held her daughter. Such innocence, lost forever.

Anger served no purpose but to destroy. It was irrational, uncontrollable. It was best if he never felt anger again, it only brought hurt and anguish upon those he held to heart.

"_And so Anger was sealed away." Faith announced._

After the scenery changed again, they saw Issei sharing a brief kiss with Gabriel. "I must go now, I must see how they are doing." A worried look crossed Gabriel's face. "Issei, my love, do you have to go now?" Issei raised an eyebrow. "Yes. I always look after those who I saved." "No!" Gabriel half shouted. "Issei, you musn't go!" Okay, something was seriously off about her. "I must be going now."

Gabriel was at a loss of words. She looked around the room, desperately searching for an answer that wasn't there. "Sleep with me." She said. "I beg your pardon?" Gabriel threw her arms around him, pushing his face into her bosom. "You heard me, I want you to make me yours." Issei pushed her off him. "Gabriel, yesterday you still declined me. Something is off about you. Rest, perhaps sleep a little. I must go now, my children need me." "Issei, no!" But Issei was already gone.

Moments later Issei stood in front of the large mansion. It was midwinter and snow gently floated down, coating the house and the surrounding forests in a layer of snow. Those he found on his quests, the children whose parents he had been forced to kill, those whose parents had been killed. He brought them here so they could have a childhood. They were under his personal protection. He couldn't visit as often as he'd like, forced to keep watch from a distance. Gabriel or Michael had conjured up some reason to keep him away from this place each time he'd scheduled a visit. The last time he'd been around was four years ago now. It was shameful.

He walked up to the great doors and knocked. No one replied. That was odd. Issei knocked again. He could hear hurried footsteps. The door opened, a slither of light falling form the hallway into the night. "You are calling at a bad time." A female voice said. "You will let me in." Issei said, voice impatient. "I'm sorry, I have received no such orders." The voice replied. "You are receiving them now!" Issei shouted, straining to control what remained of his temper.

What was going on that no one wanted him to see? If someone had hurt those who were his… God help his soul. He grabbed the door and pulled. Hard. The woman who had been holding it closed stumbled onto the snow outside. "Sir, I don't know who you are, but you can't just-" The door to the hallway beyond burst open, a child ran out. His eyes were not full of youth and joy as they should have been. They were filled with terror. "Nooooo!" The boy shouted. Blood splattered across the white marble tiles. A spear of light protruded from the Boy's chest. Behind him in the hallway stood an angel. His eyes went wide as he noticed Issei, who immediately bounded into action.

The angel had no chance to respond as light ripped through his body, tearing him to shreds. He ran further into the complex, death was everywhere, dead bodies of children piled up. Michael would pay for this. Pay more dearly than anyone in this universe had ever before. No one scorned those who were his!

Issei was livid. Every angel that crossed his way met a swift but painful death as he made his way to the central chambers. This blood crime would be repaid in full. This place had been meant as a safe haven for the victims Issei's world made. Issei noticed something and stopped. A single tear rolled down his cheek as he took in what he saw. A toddler, perhaps three years old, crucified on a wall with heavy duty industrial bolts. His ribcage was split open, guts spilled out over the floor.

Another angel ran into the hallway behind him. Issei reached out with his mind and ripped his memories apart.

"_We must terminate the Holy Sword Project. The subjects will no longer be needed for we have learned all we can. They only pose a liability now. Luckily they are the perfect test subjects. No ties, no family. Easily disposed. This pains me but it's a necessary evil."_

Issei's teeth crunched together. The voice was all too familiar. "Gabriel!" He shouted in fury. Chaos surrounded him, children dying in bunches, chased by those who should be beings of good. He was too late. He could not save them. Issei sank to his knees as a stark realization hit him. He could not win. No matter how selfless he was, how much he believed, how much he loved, feared, believed, angered himself. It all brought pain and destruction upon others.

A boy with blond hair ran by, his breathing frantic. His mind brushed past Issei's. Kiba Yuuto was his name. He watched him make way outside, running into the woods beyond. He was already dying from several severe wounds. He would not make it, like the others. He watched without feeling as the boy collapsed. He thought he saw a girl in the moonlight, standing there next to him. Her crimson hairs reflected the moonlight.

Issei, however, had a Seraph or two to deal with…

"_And so Love, Selflessness and Faith were sealed away."_

The memory shattered, leaving nothing but the original darkness in its wake. Everyone had tears in their eyes, even Koneko. "Wow…" Rias said, sitting down on the ground, unable to take it all in. "No one should be made to suffer this much." Akeno said, joining Rias. Asia was crying on Kiba's shoulder, who was fighting to maintain a calm demeanor himself.

Issei, the conscious one, sat some twenty paces away, facing the void, unmoving. Koneko walked over to him and knelt in front of him. "Issei." She said. He turned his gaze to her. "Do you know my name?" She asked. Issei blinked twice. "… Koneko." The white haired girl shook her head. "Look in my eyes, what is my name?"

Tentatively Issei reached out, holding her face with one hand. "Sh- Shirone?" He asked in a wavering voice. "How much did you see?" He asked, afraid of the answer. "Everything." Koneko replied, putting her arms around him and pulling him into her embrace. Issei sat there for a good minute. "I'm sorry Koneko. I failed you, you had to grow up without your parents, without your sister, under a cruel master." Issei's breathing quickened. "All I wanted to do was help. Maybe others would have me then, if I proved useful. Instead I failed everyone." He whispered, before breaking down completely.

Koneko just held him, refusing to let go despite his struggles. Eventually he just gave up and cried in her arms. Soon they were joined by Rias, Akeno, Asia and Kiba who all put their arms around him. "Issei." Koneko whispered into his ear, so soft the others who were huddled around wouldn't hear. "You already saved me once Issei, let me return the favor. Please return to me. Come back from the void. Feel for me, Issei." She begged. "I… I will try." And it was like she was holding the seven year old kid who had just been called a freak, so fragile, so innocent.

Issei's breathing calmed down over time, growing even and deep. He was sleeping. "It's done." The four girls and Kiba turned to see Faith, now in a bright blue garb, sided by Anger in red, Joy in yellow, Selflessness in green, Ego in purple, Fear in dark blue and Love in white. "Issei is now in _anshara_."

The members of the ORC opened their eyes. They were in the hospital room. "Issei…" Rias said, looking up. He was there, still alive. Now, however, he was floating perhaps half a meter above the bed, wrapped in a cocoon of white light. It weaved around him, restoring bone and tissue. Everyone sighed in relief. Issei would live.


	7. Chapter 7

Hello everyone. Like I said in the last chapter, this one is a bit short. That's why you got the previous one a little early ;)

Thank you to all those who reviewed and enjoy!

Soundion: Plot twists for the win, eh?

: Magnificent comment can't wait for more, please review more soon.

paposki: I'm gonna persume you said nice things, because I don't speak spanish.

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><p><em>Underworld – Medical ward<em>

It was night. Or as much night as it could get in the Underworld. Rias and the others had left at dusk, about an hour before he emerged from _anshara._ The doctors had insisted he stayed for at least two more days so they could monitor his progress. The concept was preposterous of course, but Issei decided to humor them. Issei glanced at his wings, not having bothered to hide them. They had grown back even more beautiful, his feathers now tipped with filaments of silver.

He stared ahead of him, knees pulled under his chin, pondering. The game had changed. His attention was diverted when the door opened. In stepped Kiba, who shot him an uncertain glance, but grabbed one of the nearby chairs and sat next to Issei's bed. "I'm surprised to see you this late at night." Issei said. "Do you ever sleep?"

"The older an angel becomes, the less sleep they require, but yes, I sleep. Once about every two months or so. How can I help you?" Issei replied. "I… I was wondering if you would tell me about my birth parents. I never knew them." Issei's brows furrowed in concentration. "If my memory serves me right your father was Tenzo Yuuto. I don't remember the name of your mother, but I could check the archives of Tokyo, where you were born."

"What… what happened to them?" "Murdered in cold blood by a stray exorcist I was chasing, I stopped his killing spree a few hours after their death." "Oh…" Kiba looked a little sad. "Do you know what they did for a living?" "I think your dad was a regular office clerk." Issei said to Kiba's disappointment. "Sounds harsh doesn't it? Everyone who doesn't know their parents hopes for a fairy tale of some kind." Kiba nodded.

"Kiba, everyone is born with the potential for greatness in them. Who your parents were in no way defines who you are or can be. For starters you were born with a Sacred Gear despite your parents being the most regular people you could imagine. Look how far you have made it. You serve as a knight for the heiress of one of the great four houses of the underworld. You are already set up to sway more power than they ever would have and you are barely sixteen."

"Why did the Holy Sword Project have to be terminated?" Damn, Kiba was on a roll with the questions. "The results were unyielding. As you perhaps remember from your time there, you were taught intrinsic knowledge of the exact workings of the holy sword. That is closely guarded information. The risk of it running loose was too great. The dead don't talk."

"But the institution of the Holy Sword Project was yours!" Kiba said accusingly. "Yes, it was. I, however, never consented to the project, nor it being done on the children I saved. I tried to shoot the project down as soon as the first drafts of it were made. Later I learned I was unsuccessful and I was betrayed by the person closest to me."

"Gabriel could not have hoped to conceal the project forever." Kiba said. "No, she hoped to sway me with the answers the project was speculated to provide or, if that failed, blame the killings on the fallen angels. She broke me, Kiba. What she did to you and your comrades broke me."

"I know." Kiba said. "Right, I forgot you lot decided to invade my mind." "We didn't exactly invade your mind." Kiba said. "Rias's evil pieces brought you into my mind, yes?" Kiba nodded. "She took active action to place them in me, yes?" Kiba nodded again. "So, without my consent, you entered my mind through an active act." "Okay, if you put it that way, I guess the use of the word invade is condoned." Kiba said.

"But aren't you grateful for what we did for you?" Kiba asked. "You saw the memories, don't you think death would have brought me peace?" Kiba was silent, finding no way around the logic of Issei's answer. "What happened afterwards? What did you do to Gabriel?" He eventually asked.

Issei's expression hardened. "I was unable to undertake 'legal' action against her, if Heaven even has such a thing, since I found out she was backed by all the Seraph. I found out she got close to me only as to make sure I did not interfere in their project. Therefore I took the only action I could. I shunned her, denied her existence for the most part. She aches for my forgiveness, something she will never gain. It's the only penance I can take from her so it will have to make do. One day," Issei continued, "I hope the regret will fester so deep she will voluntarily fall."

"She came here, you know. Soon after Riser burned you to a crisp she came demanding answers. She was yelling something about 'a shift of power' that was sensed all the way in Heaven. She thought the devils were plotting war." Issei snorted. "Sounds like Gabriel. Inconsiderate, rushed, and rude. To understand her you must first understand where I come from and that is an explanation I would rather only give once, with the rest of the ORC present."

"You can manipulate bone and after you do, you bleed. Why?" Issei's eyes were piercing. "Careful, Kiba. I may be in your debt, but don't push it." Issei silenced Kiba. Issei remained silent for a few moments, letting Kiba think he wasn't going to answer. "Every hundred thousand angels or so, one is born with a gift. They are granted the power of manipulation. What they can manipulate is random, ranging from rocks to emotions. Most of these angels become Seraph, those who don't revered members of angel society."

"Using this power turns our blood acidic. Too much of it and the acid eaths through the veins in our body. It first becomes apparent in highly blooded membranes, such as nose, eyes and nails. Carry on longer and more major arteries will open up, such as the ones on the arms and legs. Overuse will fry the brain, or drain of too much blood, killing the user. And before you ask, it's considered very rude to ask what an angel can manipulate." Kiba sat in in his chair, contemplating this new knowledge.

"I hope you have the answers you came for now, Kiba. You should rest." Issei said. Kiba nodded and turned for the door. "Issei," Issei looked up to where the knight stood in the door frame, his back to him. "Thank you." And with that Kiba was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

Hello everyone!

Shoutouts:

Soundion: I'm gonna keep Gabriel's position in the dark for a little longer. Trust me, when the mumbo collides it will be an interesting afternoon ;).

: Magnificent comment, please write more soon.

University is commencing tomorrow and I have a few important retakes coming up Wednesday and Thursday, so expect the update rate to drop a little over the coming week. Sorry guys, but I need to make a living in the future too! Enjoy!

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><p><em>Earth – Kuoh Academy<em>

Issei stood across from Rias and the other members of the ORC. "Where will you go now?" Rias asked him. "I don't know for certain yet. I had… a bit of a falling out with Michael. I have a bit of a project of my own to take care of; maybe I will turn my attentions there now." "You could stay with us." Rias said spontaneously before clasping her hands over her mouth.

Issei gently laughed. "I appreciate the offer, Rias. I will remember it when I find myself in need of shelter. I will, however, not burden you with my presence." Rias remembered the memories. Issei was certain no one would want him around voluntarily. "I want you to stay with us." She said with certain voice.

Something sparked in Issei's eyes. Was it fear? "No, that's quite alright. I really should go." He said in a nervous voice. "… Stay." Koneko said, walking over to Issei and embracing him. "Guys, please…" Issei begged desperately. "You, my dear Issei, are not going anywhere." Akeno said, embracing him from behind. Issei's shoulder sagged. "Fine, but I'm bringing my project and I don't think you lot will like it."

Later that afternoon a cry of anger reverberated through Kuou's grounds. "You're bringing that fallen angel with you?!" Rias shouted in disbelief. "Hey, it wasn't me who insisted I stay with you lot. Besides, she is not ready to come for another few weeks." Rias and Issei stood in the bare room that was to be his. "She is the one who killed Asia…" Rias said through gritted teeth. "Yes, hi, my name is Issei Hyoudou. I was there too, you know?" Rias sighed and brought a hand to her forehead, gently rubbing it.

"What exactly did you hope to achieve with her anyways?" She asked. "Something tells me I can restore her. Call it a gut feeling if you will." Issei replied. "And how do you hope to do that?" "Your guess is as good as mine. I will keep her close, probably as a servant. We will see if the spark within her can be reawakened."

Rias was silent for a few moments. "Fine, but she shares your room." The ORC had gone through the trouble of clearing out a room used for storage purposes for Issei. He would not be using it a lot, since he rarely slept, but he realized it would make for a fine prison with the proper wards in place. "What's in the boxes?" Rias asked, pointing to the five cardboard containers Issei had teleported in earlier that morning.

Issei glanced at them. The answer was: mostly weapons and artifacts. "Want to help me unpack?" He offered in an uncharacteristic display of social skill. He would be staying under her roof after all, it was only fair she knew.

"Of course. Which one first?" Rias asked. "Doesn't matter, pick one." She stared at the boxes, carefully she picked the one on the far right up and placed it in the middle of the room. The first item she removed was large and kite shaped, wrapped in paper. "That," Issei said, as Rias unwrapped the package, revealing a shield, "is the Shield of Daybreak, deflects fire and darkness of almost any kind. Had I had this baby with me, Riser's attack would have been for naught." Carefully Rias placed it on the ground.

The rest of the box contained a myriad of daggers and knives, all with an interesting background story, but nothing major. After the box had been emptied and disposed of, the two stared at the display on the floor. "Where were you planning on stowing this away?" Rias asked. Issei walked over to the blind wall on the far side and reached down, brushing his hand across the wooden panels on the floor.

"Rias, there is life in everything. I may not have green fingers, but all angels can make plants grow." He said. Energy flowed from Issei into the wood. The wood started to grow! A full-fledged tree formed, complete with leaves. Issei molded the plant to cater the forms and shapes he needed. "You only need know where to look for it." He finished with a smile. "Now then, let's get this sorted out." He gestured to the weapons on the ground. "Daggers on the right, knives underneath. The shield goes up there."

Soon they moved on to the second box. "The plant, it's as if you knew exactly how to grow it." Rias said, admiring his handiwork. "I am restoring the arrangements as they used to be in Heaven, I would not be much of a warrior if I did not know my way around my weapons rack." Issei replied. "What's this?" Rias said, removing a helmet from the second box.

"Careful with that!" But it was already too late. Rias screamed in agony as she dropped the metal. She clutched her hand, her fingers turned a deathly pale, blackening at the tips, tears growing in her eyes. "I told you to be careful with that." Issei scolded her as he grabbed her hand. He folded his fingers over hers and muttered a few worlds. When he released his hold her fingers were pale, but not blackened anymore.

"The feeling in those should return within the hour. If it doesn't, immediately come find me." Rias was in too much of a stupor to say anything and merely nodded. "This," Issei said, pulling on gloves and removing the rest of the set form the box, "is the armor of Narook." He quickly discarded the gloves, throwing them in a corner where they immediately rotted and fell to pieces.

"It absorbs the energy of anything it touches, in effect withering it into nonexistence. This includes any and all spells, projectiles and weapons. It then uses this energy to form barriers around itself, making the wearer as good as invincible. Putting it on is a pain though." Issei levitated the armor to the center of the rack.

"Shall we move on?" He asked. Rias sat down on the ground. "You carry on, I don't think touching your stuff is such a good plan." She muttered weakly. Gently Issei ran a hand down her long crimson locks, making Rias shiver involuntarily. "You know I didn't mean to hurt you, right?" He asked worriedly. Rias nodded and assured him with a genuine smile.

Next Issei moved to a large, flat, square box. Gently he lifted the lid. "This must, by far, be the favorite weapon out of my collection." He pulled out an ornate bow, complete with visor and stabilizer. "Behold the Bow of Artemis. It never misses, as long as the shooter's intent is true." He pulled back the bowstring, making an arrow of light manifest within the taut bow. "What I love most though, is that these arrows do whatever you wish. They can do anything from stun to enchant to kill."

Issei walked over and placed the bow directly under the armor. "I hope you won't mind if I skip this one, Rias." He said, gesturing to a fourth, more regular box. "It contains rings and artifacts. Very interesting but we would be here for a while if I had to explain what each and every one of them does." Rias nodded. "That's quite alright. I trust you not to bring artifacts of genocide into the ORC." "Well, perhaps the Apple of Eden-" "Issei!" Rias interrupted. "Fine, fine. You win." Issei said, putting the box aside.

Issei gestured to the wall. "Rias, what is here, is well known to be in my possession by others. However," Issei grabbed the final box, a long and thin one. "I cannot emphasize how important it is you do not flaunt the existence of this weapon to anyone." Issei lifted the lid of the box. "Behold Aurora!" Issei said, raising the large two handed blade of gold and silver.

Rias's eyes went wide. "You own the sister sword to Excalibur?!" She shouted in disbelief. "I spent two hundred years gathering up the pieces and re-forged her myself." Issei said with a hint of pride. "It is, without a doubt, the most powerful sword in existence now that Excalibur has been split into fragments."

Rias watched with awe as he walked over to the wall and placed the large sword to the left of the armor on a diagonal angle. "What's supposed to go there?" Rias eventually spoke, gesturing to a single open spot between the daggers and knives. "Ah, of course." Issei said. He reached into his coat and pulled out his dagger. He tapped it a few times with the fingers of his other hand, contemplating. Then he turned to Rias.

"Take it. It means more to you now than it does to me." He said, handing her the blade with which he had won the rating game. "I… Thank you." She said, gracefully accepting the gift. "But now you have an empty spot on the wall." She said. "Well then, perhaps you should present me with a dagger of your own some time." He replied with a sultry smile.

Rias didn't know what to say, she just stood there and blushed. Why did this talk of daggers have her so flustered? "It's still a little barren, don't you think?" Rias said when she had calmed her nerves enough. "Right." Issei said, crouching down and touching his hand to the floor in the middle of the room. "Would you like me to go?" Rias asked, making to leave.

"No, just… stay there for a second." Rias watched as around her furniture grew out of the floor and walls. A writing desk. Chairs and a couch in the far corner, several shelves and a closet. Her attention soon shifted to the unusually huge bed, curved into a semi-circle, which had grown out of the third well underneath the window. "I will need to have a mattress and sheets tailored for that. Plants can only grow so much." He muttered, brushing his hand through his hair.

"That's quite a bed right there. You planning to share it?" Rias asked. Issei looked at her with a deadpan and spread out his fourteen wings, the tips reaching from wall to wall. "Wings, remember?" He was silent for a few moments. "Although I would not mind sharing. I always feel like someone cares when someone shares my bed." He said. "You know the entire ORC, save Kiba maybe, would share your bed with you if you let them, right? You helped all of us in a time of need, and we care about you. I know you don't believe it but we truly do." Rias said. "Even you?" She blushed, considering her words carefully. "Yes… even me."


	9. Chapter 9

Wow guys, holy shit. I'm dancing on the reviews you guys sent me over the last chapter...

let me do the shout outs:

...

Thanks , magnificent comment, just like the previous seven.

...

damn, I guess we will try again later guys.

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><p><em>Earth - Issei's chambers<em>

It had taken some effort, but he'd found someone crazy enough to fashion him the peculiarly shaped mattress with a single set of linen. More couldn't be made in one day, but the man had promised to send a few more in the days to come. A lot could be achieved with the right amounts of money. Given he lived several lifetimes earning money and nothing to spend it on, Issei had amassed plenty of it. With a sigh, he collapsed on the bed, it had been a long day. He glanced around his room, noting the many empty shelves. He would have to do some shopping.

And then there was Raynare to deal with. The issue on its own gave him a headache. All in its own time, though. He would deal with her tomorrow. "Issei, the rest of us will be leaving now. We will be back tomorrow afternoon!" Rias yelled from the clubroom. "Alright, good night everyone!" He yelled back. He ran his hands through the sheets, basking in their softness.

He couldn't remember the last time he slept. Three months ago perhaps? Yes, he would sleep tonight. He struggled out of the sheets, brushed his teeth, stripped off his robes and carefully selected a throwing knife, placing it under his pillow and turned off the lights.

Issei was almost asleep when he heard the light tap of footsteps in the main clubroom. Carefully he reached for the knife, holding it at the ready as he watched the door. Ever so slowly it opened, the figure who walked in was of small stature, undoubtedly female. "Koneko?" Issei asked, his suspicion confirmed when the moonlight that shone through the window lit up her face.

"Shouldn't you be home?" Koneko said nothing, but stripped down to her panties and bra and climbed into Issei's bed. "Koneko?" He asked uncertainly when she cuddled up to him. "… You said yourself you wouldn't object to someone sharing your bed." He would kill Rias tomorrow. "Koneko, I am over three hundred years old. Isn't this somehow… wrong?" Koneko pressed a finger to his lips. "We are both immortal, for reasons I cannot explain I feel attracted to you, therefore this isn't wrong." She replied.

"Koneko, you mustn't be attracted to someone like me." Issei said. "For God's sake, I sleep with a knife under my pillow. I doubt you would find a more broken soul anywhere on this earth." He whispered to her. "That," Koneko replied, "is exactly why I feel attracted to you." Issei sighed. Normally he would have protested, but he was so tired… so tired…

Issei was uncertain and Koneko must have felt the tension in his body. "You can touch." She said, pulling his arm over her waist. Issei gave in, possessively tugging the Nekomata into his chest. "If you insist on doing this, Koneko, I have but one request." "…?" "Don't hide your true nature from me." Koneko was silent for a minute. "Then you must do the same." She whispered in a soft voice.

Issei spread out his wings and wrapped them around Koneko, cocooning her. He felt her soft tail brush against his side. "Thank you for this, Koneko." Issei whispered, gently tugging a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Good night, Issei." He was about to drift off again when the door opened once more.

"Asia?" He whispered when he saw the glint of golden blond. "Issei, if she gets to join you, I want to as well!" She whispered, stripping and crawling into bed with Issei as well. "Asia…" His soft complaints fell on deaf ears as she snuggled into Issei's back. He sighed and wrapped a set of wings around her as well.

"I hope you are up for a rough night." He heard Koneko whisper. "What do you-" The door opened a third time, revealing Akeno. She dropped her kimono and silently joined the three on the bed. She placed herself around Issei's head, pushing away his pillow and resting his head on her bare stomach. It was a bit of a stretch, but Issei managed to free his third right wing for her to use as a pillow.

He wasn't even surprised anymore when the dour opened again and Rias walked in, dressed in a see through night gown. She too, crawled into the bed, but, noting as there was really no Issei left to cuddle with, settled for a small expanse on the bed to Issei's left, near his feet. He heard everyone's breathing even out and deepen. He couldn't help but feel a little bad for Rias, who had probably voluntarily given way for everyone else first.

He stretched out with his four remaining wings on his left side and gathered her up in them, wrapping her in softness and warmth. She murmured something, but soon returned to a deep sleep. As issei lay there, surrounded by the four beautiful women, he felt a myriad of emotions well up inside him. Sadness and grief over his past, affection, but most of all happiness and a sense of being truly cared for. Something he hadn't felt for centuries.

A tear of happiness escaped his eye. Gently he ran his fingers down Koneko's side, reassuring himself all of this was real. With a warm feeling in his stomach Issei drifted off to a deep, dreamless sleep. Perhaps with these devils, everything would become better.

Issei woke at dawn, feeling refreshed and better rested than ever before. When he tried to move, however, something weighed him down, pinning him to the bed. Memories of the previous night returned to him. Opening his eyes he looked around him, noticing all the girls were still where they were the previous night. He rested his head on Akeno's stomach again and firmed his grip on the Nekomata in his arms, basking in the warmth that surrounded him.

It was not until two hours later that the first devil woke. Koneko stirred in his arms and turned around, facing him. "Sleep well?" Issei asked. Koneko nodded, blushing. Issei hadn't noticed how close they were, almost resting their foreheads against each other. Unconsciously they both inched closer until finally, tentatively and almost shyly their lips met. "Koneko…" Issei whispered. "I don't know if I have the capability to love agai-" She pressed her lips to his once more. "If you don't, I will love for the both of us." She reassured him, before slipping out of his embrace with a cat's grace.

He watched her slim figure, still only in panties and bra, recede into the bathroom. Issei knew he shouldn't, but he lusted after her. She was just too cute. "Ara, now I want one too." Before he could turn to Akeno she had already pressed her plump lips to his. Dumb folded he watched her slide of the bed too and leave.

"Issei…" He turned over and looked into Asia's eyes. She looked at him with a pouty expression. "What is it Asi-" And so he received his third kiss of the morning. Issei knew he was indulging in sin, that he shouldn't be doing this, but it just felt so inherently right to him. He watched as Asia too struggled out of the covers and headed out of Issei's room.

He knew that if he continued down this path, there was a chance he would fall. That was, unless he loved true and they loved true as well. Only then could an angel and another be together without the angel falling. Could he even still love? He wasn't too sure after Gabriel. The old wounds still ran too deep.

"Good morning Issei…" Rias groaned as she stretched. Suddenly her eyes opened wide. "Oh god, I'm crushing your wings. I'm sorry-" He tightened the grip of his wings around her. "They are strong." He replied, deciding that was all the explanation he was going to give. "I put you there last night." Rias went still. "You cared…" she whispered. Issei laughed and shook his head. "Rias dear, I am not certain whether to thank you or be angry with you."

"Why not both." She said in a sultry voice. "You can punish me for being a bad girl. Since you won from Riser I am practically yours to do with as you please regardless." Issei gained a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Is that so, Rias Gremory?" He said, ghosting a hand over her slim figure. "Yes…" She gasped, answering more than one question. "Good. Then out you go. Come on, go get changed. I am sure you have a day of productive devilish things to do."

She looked at him with pouty eyes. "Tease." She said. "Hush, you will live." "Issei?" She said. "What is i- Hmmpf!" She smashed her lips to his. "We will do this every night Issei. As long as is needed till you realize people care about you. Just you. And then some more if you will still have us." She said, before unwrapping herself from his wings and walking out the room. "Girls…" Issei sighed, dropping back down to the bed. He needed to meditate. It had been a while since he last visited Love.

He sat on the bed and folded his legs under him. Resting his hands on his stomach, Issei centered himself and dove into his mind. He stood in the void nothingness that was his subconscious. "Love! I need a moment!" He shouted into the darkness. "Love is not coherent, too confused, at the moment." Issei spun and saw a magenta copy of himself composed of Ego and Faith – faith in the knowledge of oneself – everyone's logic worked differently after all.

"Logic." Issei said, greeting his emoticlone. "You have come to contemplate the case of your devils." His emotion stated. It wasn't a question. Of course not, Logic was Issei and Issei was Logic, they both knew the same things. One might wonder what the use is of having such a structured mind, or delving into it, if no new knowledge could be gained. That wasn't necesairly true. This type of meditation was useful if one wanted to, say; only know the logical aspect of a situation. Or the angry side, or the loving side and so forth. "What is your opinion?" Issei said.

"Well, you are the living manifestation of what remains of God. I don't think you will have to worry about falling. The remaining question, however, poses more of a topic. Angelic relationships are rare, if not unheard of." Logic stated. "I am the manifestation of God's anger." Issei corrected his emotion. "Am I even capable of loving one, let alone multiple people?"

"A manifestation of God's anger is still a manifestation of God. God was known for his all-encompassing love for all that existed under his reign. If someone loves you true," Logic said, "the chance is high you can love them the same way in return." Issei nodded, but this didn't help him much further. "We are not blind, it's clear that they all gravitate towards us. If, for the sake of argument, we entertain the notion a relationship would be viable. Who should we pick?"

The question was cold, calculated, logical, just like the emotion who asked it. "We cannot chose one without hurting the others…" Issei replied. "Then take them all." Was Logic's reply. "Are you mad?" Issei sad. "Like you said, angelic relationships are rare, let alone polygamous ones. Besides, how can Rias's peerage ever show their faces in the underworld when it becomes known they are with an angel?"

"I think that's something for them to worry about. Perhaps you should point out the possible consequences of their choice." Issei nodded. "And as for polygamy: you get to take over heaven sooner or later anyways, what you do doesn't matter. You get to rewrite the rules afterwards anyways." Logic said. "Now you should return. Rias is running towards your chambers and I sense her distress from here."

Issei opened his eyes. The sun shone high in the sky now, how long had he been in meditation? Three, maybe four hours was his guess. Sure enough he heard hurried footsteps growing closer. He winced as he got up from the bed, allowing blood to flow through his legs again. Rias burst into his room, breathing heavily. "Rias, what's wrong?"

"They took Koneko!"

"Rias, calm down. Who is 'they'?" Rias was stumbling over her words, trying for form a coherent sentence. Issei walked towards her and slapped her straight across the face. Damn that was becoming a bad habit of his. Putting his arms around her he pulled Rias into an embrace. "I said: calm down. Tell me what happened."

"We were out, on orders to clear out a stray devil… and… and…" Rias was heaving throughout her explanation. "Come." Issei said, pulling her out his room. He made way for the sink, filled a glass of water and gave it to Rias. Gratefully she took a few sips. "Alright, let's try this again. Tell me what happened."

She swallowed hard, before giving her explanation. "We were dealing with a stray devil. Managed to take her out easily. Then there was this flash of light and Koneko was gone!" Issei maintained his calm, more panic would not help the situation. "Do you think you might have been lured out?" He asked. "I don't know! I just… and then… I… Issei! I have never failed to protect my servants!"

"Rias. Take a rest, calm down, shower, whatever makes you feel comfortable. Are the rest of the ORC still on the scene?" He asked. Rias nodded. "Where can I find them?" She gave him directions to an abandoned warehouse downtown. "Alright, Rias. I'll get your Rook back. Don't worry. I will be back soon… I hope." He pressed a cell phone in to her hands. "For if I need to reach you quickly." He added.

He then grabbed Aurora, quickly bounded out of the ORC clubroom, spread his wings and took flight. He quickly covered himself with an invisibility spell to avoid being seen by the mortals a bare hundred meters below. He angled his primaries into the wind to increase his agility, making a few tight turns around some high risers before gently setting down outside the warehouse.

Kiba was trying to calm down Asia, who was in tears. Akeno sat to the side with a distraught expression. Issei walked up to her and undid the spell. To say he startled Akeno would be an understatement. "Dear Maou, Issei, don't scare me like that!" She said, breathing heavy.

"Tell me what happened." Issei commanded, but barely paid any attention to her words. He started pacing around the yard, nodding and 'uhu'ing every once in a while, to at least pretend to listen to Akeno. The area was heavy-laden with a highly poisonous form of Senjutsu, borderline Youjutsu. "How many Youjutsu users do you know?" He cut straight through Akeno's story.

"I don't know. I'm not an expert on the subject. I know of an SS class stray devil who was rumored to wield the power, but I don't know for certain. Not many Youkai have made their existence known." Akeno replied. "Would you happen to remember her name?" "Hmmm… yes… I think her name was… Kuroka."

Issei's blood ran cold. "I should have known…" He muttered. "Thank you, Akeno. Return to the ORC, I'm afraid this is beyond your capabilities now." "Where are you going?" Akeno asked as Issei walked away. "A place I never hoped to revisit in the near future.


	10. Chapter 10

Hello everyone! Much, much better job this time around. I get to do shout outs again! *happy dance happens* Lets get to it:

death'ssontripo: I feel your pain. I had to get that done thrice _on the same toe,_ after which the doctors just went like 'fuck it' and removed the left side of my toe - that one aint growing back in anymore. I hope by now you have at least somewhat regained the ability to move around, get well soon!

: magnificent comment, can't wait for more. Please write more soon.

soundion: It takes a lot for Issei to 'fall', as you put it ;). It's happening in some 12.000 words though.

Dasher911: Read on and you'll find out in time where he is going. If I told you, you wouldn't have so much fun reading right?

Sunsengnim: HERES MOARR! Thank you for the support and kind words! I will try to stay as active as possible.

Enjoy chapter 10!

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><p><em>Heaven – The Throne of Michael<em>

The throne room was empty. If there was a god left, he was smiling on Issei today. Carefully he moved past the golden throne, to the chamber beyond. Behind the throne stood his objective; the Eye of the World. If one would not know better, it would be dismissed as a simple marble basin. Issei, however, knew better. The Eye of the World was one of the most useful tools of Heaven, allowing angels to find any living being on Earth with some simple magic.

It was filled with crystal clear water. Issei picked up the dagger on the edge of the basin and carefully nicked a finger. When the drop of blood hit the water, it turned a milky gray, and then whirled in an awe inspiring display of colors before finally turning a murky black. Issei took a deep breath, leaned in and pushed his face through the surface.

"_Come now, Shirone. You musn't be so stubborn." Kuroka's voice sounded. "I will die before I use Senjutsu!" Koneko shouted. Koneko was in a cold, dark place. It was windy. Lights unfolded miles beneath her, spreading far in each direction. Was she on the roof of a sky-scraper?_

_In the distance a church bell started to ring, striking a low c__all__. Kuroka grabbed her head, shaking it as a dull headache spread through her skull. Devils truly could not stand anything remotely holy. He recognized the loud banging. It was a relatively new bell, post 1900 for sure. Issei could tell since the method of casting had changed since then._

"_Come now, Shirone. Soon Vali will come and take us out of this vile place." Kuroka said. "I don't want to go!" There was an imperfection in the sound of the bell, like the it had been cracked once. Issei searched through his memories. He had once known every church bell in the world, made these kind of tracks very easy. _

_Churches had gone out of fashion in the previous hundred years or so, though. Now only the bigger and older ones remained as landmarks. Suddenly it popped into his mind: _Cologne!_ The world's largest free swinging bell! It was cast in 1923, cracked in 1951 and then repaired. 'Fat Peter' Is what the humans called it._

Swiftly Issei withdrew from the basin, coughing slightly as he regained the ability to breathe. "Well, well. What do we have here?" Issei spun around only to be faced by none other than Michael himself. "Should I ask for what treacherous purpose you infiltrated my throne room, or should I be done with you and kill you right now?"

"You will do no such thing, Michael!" said Issei, drawing Aurora from his back. He had to fight with his bare hands; manipulation was useless against other angels with the Gift. They were immune. "Ah, so you were the one who re-forged it." Michael said. "No matter. I have blocked off all exits. You are, in fact, trapped here." Nine more figures walked into the room. Issei felt dread rise in his stomach as he recognized the nine remaining Seraph.

"Issei!" He turned to face Gabriel, who made to go towards him but was held back by Raphael. "You will die here, Issei. Heaven has no time to deal with whatever little escapades you have undoubtedly planned by now." Uriel said. Issei responded by crossing Aurora in front of his body, taking a battle ready stance. "You are welcome to try, birdboy."

"No one calls me birdboy!" Uriel shouted angrily, drawing his own sword and flying at Issei. Time slowed down for Issei, who carefully back stepped, narrowly dodging the sword. In response, he angled Aurora, slightly nicking the angel's third and fourth wing. Everyone stood, breaths held and watched as blood dripped from the flawless white of Uriel's wing.

"If you can bleed, you can die." Issei said, before spinning around, slashing at Michael with a graceful whirl. A lot of things happened at once right then. Sariel, who had raised her bow, fired an arrow at Issei. Metaron, Raguel and Sandalphon raised their hands, calling upon their divine power in an attempt to smite Issei. Raziel, Remiel and Michael raised their swords, ready to fight Issei in melee, taking a protective stance in front of Uriel, who was nurturing his wound.

Issei nimbly bent, avoiding the fatal shot Sariel sent his way. Unable to completely avoid it however, it managed to cut a narrow but long scratch across his cheek. He shifted Aurora into an urumi. Carefully wrapping the blade around his waist, he ducked low and sent the five meter long blade out in a slashing motion. Remiel and Michael jumped, avoiding the blow to their lower legs, but Raziel was too slow. He cried out in pain as the sharp edge of Aurora sliced through his shins like a knife through butter.

A sickening crack was heard as the man's legs gave way, leaving him bloodied on the ground. Issei was unable to finish him however, distracted by a retaliating arrow from Sariel. Avoiding taking the shot to the heart, Issei turned. He groaned as the arrow embedded deep within his waist. Not stopping, he broke the shaft a fist length from his body.

He threw the flimsy piece of wood at Uriel, who once again charged at him. The move caught the man by surprise. It did not do any significant damage, but it provided the opening Issei needed. With a powerful thrust he had Aurora embedded in the man's sternum. Uriel gurgled, coughing up blood before going down.

Quickly Issei pulled Aurora from the dead body, shifting it into a khopesh. He whirled around, placing it in front of him as Metatron, Raguel and Sandalphon finished their spell. The beam of light split right across Aurora's blade, but scorched up Issei's arms pretty bad. Quickly ensuring none of the wounds on his arm were beyond second degree burns, he hopped over the charging Michael and removed the three mages' heads from their bodies with a single motion.

Another one of Sariel's arrows hit home, embedding in his shoulder as he was not paying attention. Issei staggered. Remiel took advantage and thrust his blade forward, slicing open Issei's calf. Issei roared and moved the curved blade in a wild slash around him. He scored a good hit on Remiel, slicing open his ribcage. The blow was not fatal, but incapacitated the angel.

Raphael, who had been passively watching and keeping Gabriel in check, now pulled out his sword and shield and stepped forward to aid his liege, Michael. Issei engaged him with a strong overhead swing. Raphael deflected the blow with his shield and sliced straight down with his own sword, cutting large chunks off Issei's lower three left wings.

The blade in Issei's hand shiften into a haladie, more suited for the close combat battle. Issei parried and dodged Raphael's blows as Michael tried to find a gap in Issei's defense. Sariel dared not shoot, in fear of hitting either one of her two allies. With his remaining strength he thrust Aurora straight forward, piercing Raphael's shield.

Then he switched Aurora into a morning star, shredding the other angel's arm. The shield split in two, falling to the ground. Quickly Issei picked up one of the heavy pieces and hurled it across the room. Sariel, who had not seen that one coming, was hit square on the face and was knocked out.

"Enough." Something hit Issei hard on the side, knocking him off his feet. He slid several meters across the floor, coming to rest at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the throne. Michael walked towards him and raised his sword "Die now, Issei Hyoudou." He pointed the blade towards the sun and it gained an eerie glow about it. "For the good of this world, I end you." Issei closed his eyes, realizing this was the end.

"Noooo!" Before Issei could do anything, a flurry of white wings covered him. "I will not allow you to hurt him!" Gabriel stood between Issei and Michael, arms spread. "Gabriel, He killed three of the Saraph, wounded five more. Would you stand between him and justice?" Michael said. "Would you strike down your own sister?" She retaliated.

"Issei." Gabriel said, not once taking her eyes off her brother. "The shields are down, leave. Quickly." Michael radiated fury. "You would oppose Heaven?" He asked, anger rising in his voice. Gabriel ignored her brother. "Issei! I'm begging you, leave before it's too late!" Quickly Issei struggled to his feet, hesitating for a moment.

Then he sunk through the clouds below him, dropping to the earth below. He could hear Michael's shout of anger behind him as the shields went up again. Issei adjusted his heading for Europe, wincing as the numerous wounds on his body were stretched by the strain of his muscles. Quickly he looked over himself. What he saw was not good. His clothes were in tatters, stained by blood mostly his own. His arms were a deep red and he was losing feeling in his fingers. The arrow in his shoulder was mostly a nuisance, but the arrow embedded in his abdomen hurt. Bad. It had probably caused internal bleeding.

The wound on his calf stung, he had already noticed he could not put too much weight on it which meant the cut had probably struck a few tendons. Issei looked up, seeing the city of Cologne rapidly head towards him. He flared out his wings, but forgot his lower three left wings were mostly clipped. The result wasn't pretty.

He left a long trail of blood behind him as he crashed into the roof of the skyscraper, successfully scratching open most of the skin on his back and opening up bleeding wounds on his burnt right arm. He winced as he felt the bones in his upper two wings break. He groaned as he got to his feet, everything hurt.

"Kuroka, you have… no idea… how pissed I am right now." Issei said through labored breathing. "Who do you think you are to interfere with the doings of a superior creature, nya?" A voice behind him asked. Issei turned around. She had grown. That was to be expected of course, since the last time he'd seen her she'd been a seven year old girl.

Recognition filled Kuroka's gaze as she took in Issei,s appearance. "Issei!" Koneko shouted. She was bound up a few meters away from Kuroka. "Will you give Koneko back to me willingly, or must I snap every bone in your body first?" Issei asked. "Even if you knew me as a little girl, you will not take my sister, nya!" Kuroka replied.

A green poisonous mist emanated from Kuroka. "Have it your way…" Issei muttered, then shattered Kuroka's ribs. It felt good to be matched against an opponent on which that trick worked again. Angels with the power of manipulation were immune to the Gifts of other angels and the Seraph all had Gifts. He watched as Kuroka hit the cold concrete, it gave him no satisfaction. He quickly went over to her and pulled her on her back, ignoring her cry of pain. "You will recover, don't move or you will speed up the internal bleeding." He said, before hurrying over to Koneko.

Quickly he changed Aurora into a dagger and cut her bindings. Above Issei, clouds were starting to gather. Michael was quick; he had to give him that. "Come, Koneko. Quickly. You don't want what is after me to find your sister in her current state." He said, pulling Koneko to her feet and tugging her towards the rooftop access. Issei did not trust his wings to make it down to the street safely. "Can you walk?" She nodded.

"You are hurt." It was a statement more than anything else. "Yes, and I don't have the strength to fight you as well, Koneko. Now please." He said. Issei could feel the blood loss tugging at him, beckoning him into that dark void. Quickly he led her down the emergency stairs, not bothering with the shocked cries of the human onlookers as they saw Issei's appearance, wings included.

The exited the tower on a large crossing, busy with traffic. "Koneko, can you open up a magic circle?" Issei asked, not stopping. "No, I never found the need to learn, Akeno always does the circles." Koneko replied, running next to Issei. Ahead of him Issei saw a white light descend from heaven. "Shit." He silently swore, tugging Koneko into a side alley.

Not a moment later a light projectile exploded at the alley entrance. Quickly Issei flipped open his cellphone. Thank the lord for modern conveniences. He impatiently waited as the phone rang once, twice. "Issei! Where are you, is Koneko safe?" Rias's voice came from the other end of the line. "Come here! I will strip every last feather off your wings!" Michael shouted from the street.

"Rias, I don't have time. I have Koneko, but Michael is after me and he is angry." Quickly he turned another corner, tugging Koneko with him. "Can't you simply duel him into submission?" Rias asked. "You know, Gabriel was shouting your name all the while when we dragged her to the dungeons!" Michael yelled, before another projectile of light narrowly missed and exploded a few meters ahead, shattering the brick wall of the building ahead.

"If I didn't have to fight the rest of the Seraph first, then maybe yes!" Issei shouted over the explosion. "Rias, you must come for Koneko, she still has a life to live. We are in Cologne, near the old cathedral. You can turn on the TV if you want to watch, Michael is causing quite the ruckus." He said, running into the building Michael just opened up. "And what about you?" Rias asked, worriedly. Ahead of him was the heavy thumping of industrial machinery.

"My life is forfeit." He said softly, repeating the words he had said so often himself. "Goodbye, Rias Gremory. It was an honor." "Issei!" But he had already hung up the phone. Quickly he hurried up the iron stairs ahead of him and burst through a set of blue double doors. Ahead of him rows upon rows of extruders were thumping away. He ducked around the corner, pressing into the wall.

"Koneko, listen. You must run, get to safety. I will distract Michael. You must hide, call Rias and have her get you, preferably with her brother." Issei said, pushing the cellphone into Koneko's hands. "I will not leave you to die here." Koneko said defiantly. "Koneko, please. You are being selfish. You must think of the greater go-" He was cut off when she pressed her lips to his.

"If we were talking about the greater good here I'd have to sacrifice myself to make sure you got out." Koneko retorted. "Koneko, you should really stop kissing people you don't lo-" She shut him up with a slap across his cheek. "I do, you fool." She replied, then kissed him again to prove her point. "There you are." Said Michael.

Quickly Issei pushed Koneko to the side and dove after her. The wall behind where they had just been standing exploded, revealing Michael. Pushing Koneko behind him, he raised Aurora once more in full double handed state, the blade quivering in his hands. "You always did insist on doing things the hard way." Michael said, raising his own sword.

Metal clashed against metal as Issei and Michael traded blows. Issei was at a clear disadvantage, continuously parrying and dodging blows, never able to go on the offensive. With a powerful sweep Michael knocked Issei to the ground again. "This is the end, Hyoudou."

Something white then struck Michael's side, knocking him off balance. Michael stumbled back, then one of his wings caught in the industrial machines behind him. Michael shouted in anger and pain as the machine started to pull him in, shredding his wings as it went. "Fuck you! You bitch!" He shouted, furiously trying to pull out of the grasping metal arms.

"No one hurts my Issei." Koneko stated. She kneeled over Issei. "Are you alright?" She asked. "I sustained no new wounds. Thank you for asking." Issei groaned. Issei's vision went white as an explosion reverberated through the room. With horror in his eyes he watched Koneko fly across the room, hit one of the walls, leaving a significant dent, then collapsing into the floor where a puddle of blood started to form around her.

Michael laughed maniacally behind him as he struggled to his feet, stumbling over to Koneko, falling a few times in the process. Slowly the laughter was overpowered by the thumping of the machines as Michael's body was finally completely consumed. He dropped to his knees, turning Koneko over on her back.

"No…" He whispered, as he took in the damage Michael had done. Koneko's stomach was opened up. Scratch that, was destroyed. He could see the layout of her internal organs, her heart slowly faltering, the blood oozing into her stomach cavity. "No…" he repeated, pulling her head onto his lap and slowly tugging bloodied strands of her white hair out of her face.

Slowly Koneko opened her eyes. "I guess I got to sacrifice myself after all…" she said, weakly smiling at him. Issei leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers. He felt Rias's aura appear, along with the rest of the ORC, and then rapidly head closer. He ignored the gasps and cries of anguish as they entered the room, solely focused on the girl in his arms.

"Oh no…" Rias said, hurrying over to them. She sank to her knees next to Issei. "Rias…" Koneko whispered. "I am here." Rias replied, taking one of Koneko's hands in her own. "Issei is mine…" She whispered. It was the last thing she said, for her heart stopped and so did her breathing. At that moment something fundamentally changed in Issei.

Something powerful, something ancient awakened in him as he pressed her mouth to his. _Ambrosia – the food of the gods._ The sweet honey-like substance welled up in his mouth and flowed into hers. The effect was immediate. Koneko gasped, eyes opening wide as all the muscles in her body tensed. Rias whimpered as the Rook crushed her hand. Koneko's Hazel eyes searched around, finally locking onto Issei's icy blue ones.

A black ooze dripped out of Koneko's mouth, nose and eyes. Flesh and bone stretched and opened up, pushing the Rook piece out of her body. Her devil wings appeared, then shriveled and turned to dust. In their stead a set of pure white wings, tipped with blue fire, unlike any other pair wings in existence unfurled. Immediately a white cocoon surrounded Koneko's body as whatever drove Issei pushed her conscious mind into _anshara._

"What did you do?" Rias asked incredulously. "I think I made her an angel…" Issei replied, before fainting.


	11. Chapter 11

Hello everyone! I know its been a few days (bite me, I was busy). I get to do a ton of shout outs tho!

death'ssontripo: Good to hear you are doing alright. Of course I could make that happen, but then there would be _very_ little story to tell.

: Magnificent comment, please write more soon.

Soundion: I thought it was pretty brilliant myself too! I know he is, but I need to have a baddie of some sort don't I?

13loop: I'm glad to hear you like it! I hope you like this chapter too. You will see her 'fixed' soon enough... I hope...

paposki: keep hyping that, maybe it will become this communities new motto!

Izaya: Well, the no mistakes part is really thanks to my proof reader Kage no Kenshi. The daily updates are on hold for now, but I was able to do it because I had a bit of a buffer going (still do, but it's decreasing). Just sit down and write for an hour every day. If it comes naturally, you will find that you can make a lot happen in an hour.

Moneymaka: well, your waiting is over, the next update is here!

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><p><em>Issei´s Dream<em>

_Darkness. Thumping. He __was __hurt, bad. Anshara was keeping him alive, mostly. He would get the bitches, kill them, get his revenge. There was a light, someone stopped the machine. How stupid of him. Softly he chuckled in himself._

"_Oh my god, someone is in the machine!"_

"_Well, what are you waiting for Franke?! Open it up goddammit!"_

_The creaking of a hatch as it opened up. A face peered down, eyes growing wide. His hand shot out, grabbing the man around the throat, pulled him down into the machine. The man screamed in agony as teeth ripped the flesh of his neck apart, opening up the major artery. He drank, gouged on his blood._

_Slowly he rose, stepped out of the machine. His nude form was drenched in blood, his clothes having long since been claimed by the machine. "Oh my god…" The other man said, slowly backing off, turning to run. With the flick of his wrist the man froze, then slowly turned and walked towards him. His eyes were wide in fear, the man was unable to control his body._

_Michael laughed like a madman before he dove in to his next meal, feasting on the blood. He would not be so easily killed…_

Issei gasped and sat up. "Shirone…"

"She's safe. Next door in fact. You gave the church quite a run for their money. They ended up bribing half of Tokyo out of talking." Issei turned to face Rias, who sat in a recliner next to his bed. She licked her fingers and turned the page of her book. "What I find most interesting however," Rias said, "Is that there is no mention of devils being turned angels." She snapped the book shut and held it up for Issei to see. "Not even in the _Tome of Rules of Reincarnation_."

He made to throw the covers off and get up, but was quickly pushed back into the pillows by Rias. "Not so fast. Your body might have regenerated, but you lost a lot of blood." She told him and handed him a glass of water. Gratefully he took a few sips.

Issei was silent for a while. "I honestly don't know what happened myself. It was like instinct, I didn't think, I just… did." He said, trying to word things correctly. Rias looked at him with a funny expression. "How is the hand?" He asked, gesturing to the appendage Koneko had crushed with her Rook strength.

She raised it and deftly moved her fingers one by one. "It has had a few weeks to regenerate." She stated. "Weeks? How long was I out for?" Issei asked.

"Two weeks, four days." Issei suddenly felt a lot weaker and sank even further into the pillows. "I'm sorry Rias." He eventually stated.

"What for?"

"I pretty much stole one of your servants from you; I made you come all the way to Europe to watch it happen, what's not to apologize for." Issei said, closing his eyes. He felt the mattress give way where Rias sat down on it. Gently she lowered her head onto Issei's chest and embraced him.

"You saved one of my friends. Besides, I got the evil piece back, so I can get a replacement… well, Koneko will never be replaced, but strategically speaking you caused no harm."

"What will you do with her now?" Issei asked.

"She is still my friend, even after what happened. She will always be welcome here." Rias replied. Gently she started to trace patterns over Issei's bare chest.

"What happened to the other evil pieces anyways? I meant to ask, but never got around to it."

"You mean the ones I used on you?" Issei nodded. "The eight pawn pieces shattered, but the remaining knight and rook emerged as mutation pieces." She saw Issei making to speak up again. "And don't you dare apologize for it!" she scolded him. "It was my decision to use those pieces. Had you not won from Riser I would no longer have had a peerage regardless. Eight pawn pieces was a price I was willing to pay to save my savior."

"She loves you, you know." Issei raised an eyebrow at Rias's statement. "If a girl uses her dying breath to inform another girl that a boy is hers, I'd say the signs are pretty obvious." Issei had to admit that statement could have been made by Logic himself.

"What am I going to do, Rias?" Issei asked indecisively.

"Either you love her back or you don't. That is a choice for you to make."

"Rias, how can I love?" She gave him a strange look. "What kind of question is that?" She asked. "You know where I came from; I am the manifestation of anger and revenge. I am an angel, angels don't do 'relationships'. Also I'm not blind. I can tell that Asia, Akeno and even you gravitate towards me."

Rias was silent for a few moments. "Although I appreciate your honesty," She said, sitting up and straddling Issei. "Asia, Akeno and I can deal with that problem on our own. Who knows, maybe we will share you." She said, winking at Issei. "That being said, you are a person Issei; a being made of flesh and blood. That means you are capable of feeling the whole range of emotions, including love. Believe me, I can know, for I saw him with my own eyes. There is a manifestation of it in there." Rias said, pressing a kiss to Issei's forehead.

"Furthermore, judging from the blood of the Seraph dripping from Aurora and the screaming anger of Michael, I don't think you have much business with the angels anymore." Alright, she had a good point there. "Now if you are feeling up to it, I can take you to Koneko. She has been asking for you since she woke up two weeks ago."

Rias nudged Issei's arm over her shoulder and pulled him off the mattress. The walk through the hallway felt like a marathon. Koneko was fast asleep, hugging her pillow close to her. Her new found wings, way too large for her body, unfurled behind her back. He looked at Rias and gestured to the chair next to her bed. Rias nodded and gently lowered Issei into the chair.

"I will bring you some food if you think you can keep it down." She mouthed. Issei nodded in thanks. He heard Rias's footsteps retreat out the door. On the nightstand next to Koneko's bed was a note block, a pen next to it. He remembered how he had seen her as a small child. The one he had known and raised so many years ago. Those fleeting days he had spent with her family

He picked up the pen and paper and wrote.

_Quarter past seven, Sunday morning I hear a voice softly asking me_

_Have you awakened yet?_

_Will you come downstairs with me, _

_Will you have to work today or are you free?_

_And will you come play with me then?_

_The time passes so fast_

_Yesterday I saw her first, _

_cradled in my arms_

_Her beauty is a spell,_

_She wears her years so well,_

_I blink my eyes and see the change_

_But no matter how she grows,_

_in my eyes she will always be small_

_Quarter past seven, Sunday morning I see her close the door_

_I can cease my guard, she is home_

_I would have rather picked her up_

_But she asked me not to be there tonight,_

_She now finds her own way home_

_And then, when I close my eyes_

_We walk together again, on the beach_

_Her hand in mine_

_And then, she stops time_

_It's just like then_

_And it's like she needs me so_

_I hold her tight_

_I want to remember her how she was_

Issei paused, resting the pen on the paper. He glanced over Koneko's sleeping form, seeing how she had grown. She was no longer a girl who needed a guardian. She had flourished, fallen in love with a man who she shouldn't love, one who'd known her as a baby. Issei promised himself he would always be there for her. He sighed and pressed then pen to the paper, writing the final lines.

_Quarter past seven, Sunday morning she hears my voice, gently waking her_

_Today is your grand day,_

_I blink my eyes, and see how her hand now forever belongs to another_

_But no matter where she may be,_

_In my memory she will always be with me_

_And no matter how much she grows_

_In my eyes, she will always be_

A tear dropped onto the paper as he wrote the final word with a quivering hand.

_Small_

"You alright Issei? You look a little upset." Rias asked, who walked in with a tray holding two bowls of soup. He cleared his throat, wiped his eyes and shook the lingering emotion off. "Yes, I'm quite alright. Thank you." He said, gracefully accepting the soup. Rias gestured to the notepad with his sleek, neat handwriting on it. "Can I see?" She gently asked

Issei hesitated, but handed her the paper. He heard Rias gasp. "Issei, this is beautiful." She whispered. "Rias, I'm so confused." Issei whispered putting down the soup and burying his head in his hands.

Unbeknownst to him, Rias gently set down the soup and shook Koneko awake. When she looked up at Rias with large questioning eyes she raised a finger to her lips and wordlessly handed her the notepad, before retreating out the door. Tears welled up in Koneko's eyes as they moved down the paper.

Of course she remembered Issei's memory, but had not grasped its extent. She remembered that beach, a strong but gentle hand holding hers, how she had snuck out of bed early in the morning when daddy's friend had stayed over. How as a five year old girl, she had run out during the night under his guidance to play with the forest animals and returned early in the morning. Issei had been there, interwoven through her life from the day it started. A life she now asked him to share with her. Issei was over three hundred years old. She felt incredibly small as she realized how the child in his arms, a mere blink of the eyes later now wanted him to hold her at night.

In his eyes, underneath all that Koneko, she was still a little Shirone. It was something she would never change within him, as Shirone had meant so much to him.

Carefully she sat up and pulled the covers over her shoulders, draping her wings over them, much like a cape. Gently she edged towards the side of the bed and got to her wobbly feet. Very slowly she sat down on Issei's lap, wrapped the blanket around them and cocooned them in her wings like Issei had done for her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest, much like a small child would. She could hear the thumping of his heart, felt it soothe her, like it had soothed the small child she had once been. "Koneko…" Issei said weakly.

She shook her head. "No. Right now you need Shirone and that is who I'll be for you. Who I'll be forever, just like I'll always be Koneko for you." Koneko felt Issei's hands wrap around her in a protective embrace. "Even after all these years, you still haven't truly felt, Issei." She softly whispered. She could feel his internal struggle. "I have forgotten how to. For so long I blocked it all out."

She removed one hand from behind his neck and took his hand in hers, then reversed the grip so her hand was in his. "This is where your heart once was." She said, emphasizing the connection of their hands. "Take it from there, bring it here. Bring it to me." Koneko felt his frame shudder under hers. "Do you remember your brother, Koneko? His name? Your father? Your mother?" He asked in a shaky voice.

"No." She whispered. "All I remember was my hand in yours." For the first time in two hundred years Issei mourned, freely and uncontrollably cried over the losses he was forced to endure. The losses he was not able to process because his life had moved ahead full speed. He held her like she was the only thing anchoring him to this existence. Soon Koneko's tears mingled with Issei's and the two merely held each other, consoling in one another's presence.


	12. Chapter 12

Hello everyone. Lets get one thing straight:

YuukiAsuna-Chan: This was _exactly_ the type of commentary I didn't want to have. No one is forcing you to read my story, you don't need to write four consecutive comments stating the same thing. Comments 1-3 I can swallow, but the fourth one was just plain rude and offensive and you have been reported for that one. I can't feed everyone's foot-fetish. Leave me alone!

Now then! Lets get on with the fun shout outs!

Nintendoes Gamer: I feel a very unusual sensation - if it's not indigestion, I think it must be Grattitude.

13loop: Well, this one has feels too! And its 4.5K words long.

: magnificent comment, please write more soon.

Moneymaka and diggerboy4: Thank you! It wasn't the easiest to write, but I was proud of the result. I'm glad to hear it had the desired effect.

On a final note guys, lets spam so many reviews I don't have to see Yuuki's anymore next time I check them! Enjoy chapter 12!

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><p><em>Earth – Issei's safe house<em>

Issei finished the spell that would raise her from her comatose sleep. Slowly the fallen angel blinked her eyes before sitting up and looking around her with a feral expression in her eyes. Soon they found Issei, who stood idly next to the bed. "What have you done to me?" Raynare asked, looking up at Issei with big frightened eyes.

"You mean besides saving you from utter destruction like your buddies?"

"What did you do to them?!" Raynare asked.

"Me? Nothing. The Gremory devils who found you lurking around in their territory were not so forgiving though. They saved that Holy Maiden of yours by the way. I think they are most grateful to you for delivering them a bishop with Twilight Healing." Issei replied. He calmly proceeded towards the kitchen, rummaged through some cupboards and proceeded to make him a cup of coffee.

"I'll have you know trying to kill me is pointless." Issei said when he heard Raynare sneak up behind him. Was she really so foolish to think he'd fail to notice the knife she wore in her belt? To prove his point he unfurled his fourteen wings, turned around and spread his arms. "Feel free to try."

The only response he got was the knife cluttering to the ground. Raynare gasped and backed off, tripping over her own feet and falling back down on the bed. "What do you want from me?" She asked in a frightened voice. Issei contemplated telling her his motives, then decided against it. "You will serve me, obey my every command and not complain whilst doing it." Issei released a bit of magic, making the bones of her knuckles deform slightly to create an uneasy feeling. "Do I make myself clear?" Raynare gulped and nodded.

"You will follow me like a shadow unless I tell you to do otherwise. You will not speak unless spoken to and if anyone but me speak to you, the first thing you do is ask permission from me to speak. You will make no attempt to contact Azazel, you will make no attempt to escape. From this point onwards you will address me only as Master. Understood?"

"Yes." Raynare said. "Yes, what?" "Yes, master."

"Good." Issei yanked her off the bed, and placed a teleportation circle on the ground. Issei intentionally placed the exit a small two meters off the ground, so that when they emerged in the middle of the ORC he flared his wings and made a graceful landing. Raynare didn't fare so well, producing a little yelp before crashing to the ground. The ORC members, who were lounging around on the couch looked up from whatever they were doing. Koneko stuck out most, her bright wings shining against the dark themes of the clubroom interior.

"Everyone, this is my new slave, Raynare. Feel free to use her in any way you please, but don't cause her unnecessary harm." Issei said answering everyone's startled looks. "I will see to doing that myself." None too gently he pulled the fallen angel to her feet again. "Raynare, as far as you are concerned these are your masters too. Same rules apply."

"Yes master." She replied in a small voice.

"Alright, first things first. Asia." Issei said, beckoning her over. "Raynare, this is the innocent girl you killed, you will apologize to her." Issei looked at the fallen angel expectantly. "I'm… sorry." Raynare said through gritted teeth. Pathetic, she didn't even try. "One more thing, Raynare," Issei said, walking into his room and coming back with a bundle of cloth. "from now on, you will be wearing this."

"Really, a maid's outfit?" Raynare said, before whimpering when the bones of her arms started to bulge and deform. "yes master…" she said weakly, fighting tears, before retreating into Issei's chamber to change.

"Don't you think this is taking it a bit far?" Rias asked as she watched Raynare's sulking form retreat. Issei shook his head. "In the end she will be grateful for it… I hope." Rias carefully studied Issei. "In that case I will trust your judgment. She is your prisoner after all." She paused for a moment, leaning in to whisper in Issei's ear. "Issei, Koneko is recovering." Rias said. "Slowly." She added. "I think a change of scenery might do her good."

"What did you have in mind?" Issei asked. "The Gremorys have a mansion up in the mountains, mostly used for recreational purposes. I talked to my brother, he said we could borrow it for a week or so." Rias replied. Issei nodded in agreement. "Yes, sounds good. There has been a theory regarding Koneko I have been wishing to test, a remote area will do nicely for that."

Rias clapped her hands. "Alright, everyone! Let's pack. We are taking a vacation."

Overall cheers of approval arose from the ORC members, save for Koneko who looked a little saddened. Issei made way for her as everyone rushed off to their respective homes to pack. They would meet up again in an hour to take the teleportation circle there. Issei sat down next to her on the couch and tentatively put an arm around her, pulling her to him. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked.

"She's doing this because of me, isn't she?" Koneko asked. "Yes." Issei replied, deciding to tell her the truth. "She must think me weak now that I am no longer her Rook. She's going to kick me out, isn't she?" Koneko asked, tears in her eyes. "Koneko, it's true you are weakened right now. As much is to be expected after… what I put you through happened. But you are by no means weak and I am very, very certain Rias will never 'kick you out'."

"I just wish I could hide the wings." Koneko whispered. "I have been trapped inside for weeks now." Gently Issei moved his hand along the curve of her primaries, eliciting a gasp from Koneko. Angel wings could be very sensitive in… more private settings. "That's one of the reasons we are going to the mountains. Who knows, the fresh air might do you some good." Playfully Koneko punched his arm, her earlier sadness gone. He really did have a way with her.

Gently Issei pushed a kiss to her cheek. "Now go and pack, I will see you within the hour." And so the seven of them found themselves in front of the large white mountain resort. "Here you go, Raynare. You get to carry the suitcases." Issei said, dropping his and Koneko's on top of the fallen angel's. She wobbled under the added weight, but managed to remain upright.

"Rias, me and Koneko will be back for supper, alright?" He said. The president nodded and led the rest of her peerage into the house, the fallen angel with three suitcases in tow. "Where are we going?" Koneko asked. "You will see." Issei replied, before scouting the skyline with his eyes, looking for a suitable cliffside. "Come." He said, when he spotted one and placed down a teleportation circle.

The place Issei had fount was about as good as he was going to get it. Behind the cliff was a large tall grass clearing, very soft if one were to… fall. "Are you going to do what I think you are going to do?" Koneko asked, peering over the edge of the cliff. "I'm not going to push you, if that's what you are asking." Issei replied. "I just have a hunch I'd like to test. Come here please, a little bit away from the edge." He said, gesturing to the middle of the clearing.

"Have you been exercising your wings each day, like I asked you to?" Issei inquired. Koneko nodded. "Good. Spread your wings and try to take off." Issei said. Koneko stood in the middle of the clearing and spread her wings as wide as she could. She shot a questioning glance Issei's way, who nodded encouragingly. With one powerful downbeat she raised herself some two meters into the air. When she pulled her wings up, however, she lost control and tumbled down towards the ground.

"It's as I expected." Issei said when she struggled back to her feet. "Ouch…" was his only reply as Koneko started to rub her sore knees where they had connected to the ground. "Why did you make me do that?" Koneko asked. "Angels," Issei stated, "are born without knowledge of flight. Unlike devils, whose wings are more for show and rely on levitation more than anything else, angel wings function much as a bird's. In other words," Issei said, pulling Koneko to her feet, "welcome to your crash course in angelic flight training."

"What you just did is a mistake every angel makes when they first spread their wings. Spread your right wing please." Koneko did as she was asked. Issei gently held it up by the leading edge so she wouldn't have to strain her muscles to keep it in place. "Every feather has a specific function; books upon books have been written on the subject. These for instance," Issei said, stroking his fingers across the feathers at the very tip of her wing, "reduce the disruption of air after the downbeat, making for more efficient flight."

"It's however more important you master the basics right now. That way your wings become a tool rather than a burden." He moved back to the center of her wing and grabbed a fistful of feathers. None too gently he pulled. "Aah!" Koneko said as her wings tensed and all her feathers stood on end. "Hold your wing like that, I'm gonna let go now." Slowly Issei released the hand full of feathers, taking in the form of her wings.

"Memorize this feeling." He instructed. "Right now the feathers on your wings are disconnected, in other words air can flow through. Before, you kept your feathers closed, which has about the same effect as flapping a large piece of wood up and down." Issei said. "You produce the same up force as down force, which means you negate any lift you created on the down beat with the upbeat."

He stepped back, releasing Koneko's wing. "Alright, try again, but open your feathers on the upbeat this time." Koneko did as she was asked. Issei watched as she flared out her wings and attempted to take off once again. She actually managed to remain airborne for a full two seconds before the strain became too much and she sank to the ground again, wings quivering.

"One day," Koneko said, "you will have to explain to me how you do those vertical takeoffs." Issei smiled and gently massaged the area between her shoulder blades where the primary flight muscles connected to the frame of her skeleton, relaxing the strained muscles. "Sheer muscle power and a high degree of control on the trailing edge of the wing. Most angels under the two hundred mark are incapable of vertical takeoff. You will be happy to know you made it about as far as the average one-hundred-and-fifty year old on your thirty-second day of angelhood." He said. "Wanna see how it's done?"

Koneko nodded and blushed when Issei took off his shirt. "For the sake of argument we are going to assume seven pairs of wings function as one." He said. Koneko just stood there, staring at his defined chest muscles. God, Issei had a _sexy_ six-pack going and what was better, it was _all hers!_ "Well, you coming?" Issei said, impervious to her staring.

Koneko snapped out of it and stepped towards Issei. "Put your hand on my back, right between my shoulder blades." Issei instructed. He involuntarily shuddered as her lithe fingers ghosted over the base of his fourth wing pair. After all, wings could be sensitive in… private settings. Issei spread his wings, forming them into a unified shape of a huge wing. It wasn't as effective as the takeoffs he did in which all seven were used separately, but showing off one of those would teach Koneko nothing.

"Look at the shape of my wings. Notice how the primaries are mostly straight and trailing edge curved? It's basically a large air scoop." Slowly he raised his wings, letting Koneko feel the work of his muscles as they raised the large appendages into the air. "Wings are meant to glide, like an airplane. The key to a vertical takeoff is to push down with so much strength that you gain enough altitude to perform a slight dive and gain forward momentum. Once you have momentum you can do almost anything, including a near vertical climb. Going into one of those from takeoff is possible, but I have not seen any angel under two-hundred-and-fifty master those." He said.

He turned around and firmly grabber hear around the waist. "Ready?" Issei asked. "Ready for wha-" her question turned into a scream as Issei pushed down raising both him and Koneko a good twenty meters into the air. "Issei! I have no idea how to do this!" She screamed as he twisted in the air so his back was facing the ground now, then corkscrewed and made a vertical dive down the cliffside.

After a dive of maybe twenty meters he leveled out, entering a gentle horizontal glide. "We start off slow." He assured her. Gently he turned her around so her back was to his chest. "Spread your wings." He instructed. Koneko did as she was told, but kept too little force on her primaries, which caused the wings to flare and snap wide open. "Whoa!" Issei said, quickly pushing Koneko's wings shut again and flapping his own to regain some speed.

"Let's try that again. This time, actively angle your wings into the wind." He instructed. He let go of her trailing edges and allowed her wings to flare out again. He felt her wings starting to generate lift. "I'm gonna let you go now."

Before she had time to reply Issei pulled his arms back and slightly angled his leading pair of wings, granting him a little altitude so Koneko was now gliding on her own. "Issei you bastard!" He heard Koneko shout. "Trust your instincts!" He yelled after her, hoping he would not have to prevent her from splattering into the ground. Those things could really destroy a new flyer's ego.

Issei halted in midair and entered a hover, watching as Koneko stumbled through the air, clumsily moving her wings as she tried to turn corners, remain at a steady altitude and retain her speed. "Very good Koneko! You are doing great!" He shouted in encouragement. Eventually she gained enough confidence and began to experiment, making dives, climbs, corkscrews and loopings. "This is great!" Koneko yelled.

"You haven't even begun to scratch the surface!" Issei yelled in reply. After a while Koneko began to fly circles around Issei. "How do you hover?" She yelled at him. "Why don't you observe and find out yourself?" Issei yelled, altering his movements so his seven wings resembled a single pair. He watched in amusement as she fumbled around, trying to nail the tricky maneuver. Eventually she gave up and set a crash course for Issei.

"oomph" Issei said as her light frame crashed into hers, quickly wrapping his arms around her to prevent her from falling to the ground. Koneko turned her head to the side, trying to see the way Issei moved his wings. They were moving very fast, almost a blur. "Do you know how hummingbirds hover?" Issei asked.

Koneko shook her head. "Alright, spread your wings." He said, granting her enough space within their embrace to do as he had asked. "Relax the whole of your wing, save for the leading edge." He told her. Experimentally he gave her trailing edge a slight push, satisfied with the way it dangled back and forth limply.

"Good, now you move your primaries in a figure eight through the air. And do it quickly. You have to fight the urge to use any other muscles save the ones in your primaries, otherwise your wings will lose all their lift. Let the tension in your wing tissue do the work." Koneko nodded in understanding. Issei stopped moving his wings for a moment and turned them over in the air. Beating his wings furiously he pushed them straight up into the sky, gaining a large amount of altitude. Their clothing grew slightly damp as they pierced the clouds.

"Give it your best shot, I will catch you if you fall." He said, before pushing her away from him. Issei watched as she circled around and tried to enter a stable hover. She moved her wings too slowly and yelped as she fell down. Quickly she caught herself and started circling again a hundred meters below Issei.

Quickly he descended, falling into a trajectory that matched hers. "You need to move your wings quicker!" he yelled at her. "It feels strange!" She replied. "I know! Hovering is very counter intuitive to bird-like creatures such as us!" He watched her try again. She actually managed to hold her hover for a few moments, but then began to pull her wings straight using the muscles in her lower wing.

"Keep your wings limp!" He yelled after her as she plummeted down through the clouds. He saw himself fall through those clouds, remembering how he had once struggled with the trick. Quickly he folded his wings and dove after her. When he regained vision of Koneko she was hovering in the air. Giving a delightful whoop Issei swooped around and entered a hover next to her.

"You're a natural!" He exclaimed. Together they watched the setting sun. "Wait here!" He said, then quickly flew off. A few moments later Issei returned with his shirt on. "You ready to return to the house? I think dinner will be soon." He said. Koneko nodded and followed him. Together they soared through the air, Issei was carefull to avoid pockets of turbulence and hot air. Although Koneko could probably handle them, he would rather not attempt it with her at these kinds of velocities.

Soon Issei set down on the roof, flaring his wings in awesome display as his feet touched the white tiles and turned around. Not a moment too soon as Koneko gracefully crashed into him, sending them both sprawling. As luck would have it, she ended up straddling him. "I'm gonna have to work on those landings…" Koneko muttered, nestling her head into Issei's chest. "It's the takeoffs I'm more worried about. Until you master the vertical takeoff you are stuck jumping from ledges. Maybe we could invent a bastardized version, combine leg and wing strength…" He mused.

Dinner was amazing and the mood was good as everyone shared their stories of the day. Issei listened with quiet satisfaction as Koneko told every one of her exhilarating flying adventures, describing every minute detail. An angel's first flight was something that would forever remain within their memories, no matter how old they grew.

Later that night, when Issei was relaxing in one of the armchairs next to the fireplace, Koneko came up to him and crawled into his lap. He stroked her hair in long, languid motions as she softly purred. "I'm so glad you aren't furious with me." Issei said. "What do you mean?" "I took away your Rook piece, forced a strange set of wings on your back, binding you to a new set of rules and had you bedridden for nearly three weeks."

"You saved my life. Besides, I like these wings." She said, softly touching the primaries of her right wing. "They are truly extraordinary, Koneko. Never before have I seen wings made out of living fire, save for on a phoenix." Issei replied, moving his hand along the trailing edge of her wing, where harmless soft blue flames softly danced around. He wrapped his arms around the girl as she sighed in contentment.

After a while Issei gently moved the girl so he had some more liberty of movement. He reached for the delicate, wooden box next to the chair. He opened it, shifting the velvet interior aside to reveal a rather… plain object for such an elaborate packaging. Gently he lifted the brown, ceramic teapot from the box and set it down in a bowl on the table.

"What are you doing?" Koneko asked.

"Briefly excuse me, will you." Issei said, before making a slight jog for the kitchen. A moment later he returned with a large copper kettle. He sat down again, letting Koneko retake her old spot. "When I was nineteen," Issei said, removing a pouch from the box, "I helped an old Chinese lady who'd lost her cat." He gently spread the herbs on the palm of his hand and dropped them into the pot.

"She had no children, no one to give her legacy to. Instead she gave me this. Do you know what this is?" Issei said, gesturing to the teapot.

"A teapot?" Koneko asked uncertainly.

"Exactly. For three hundred years this pot was handed down through her family. It must be regularly used, otherwise the clay dries and the pot crumbles." Issei poored the boiling water into the pot, not stopping when it was full. "Every time the pot overflows, slight sediment is left behind." He took out two cups and shot her a questioning glance. She shook her mind and he placed one back in the box.

Issei poured his tea, letting the flickering light of the fire dance across the ceramic surface. It glinted and shone, breaking the light in a myriad of colors. "This was first done over six hundred years ago, Koneko. Each time someone drinks tea form this pot, that memory stays alive."

Issei stared into the flames of the fireplace sipping his tea, watching them grow and recede.

Wait, pause, rewind. Grow and recede?

That was strange, the flames were altering in intensity at a steady rate. A very steady rate. A rate he could feel in his arms. The rate of Koneko's breathing! Could she have the Gift? Was that even possible in newly made angels? Then again, she was the first of her kind, so in theory anything was possible.

"Koneko?"

"Hmmmm?" The half-asleep girl in his lap mumbled. "Could you breathe in really deep for me?" He asked. Koneko raised her head of his chest and gave him a strange look, but did as she was told. The flames in the fireplace responded immediately, grew in size and intensity, almost escaping the stone confines of the fireplace. "Do you trust me?" Issei asked. Koneko nodded.

Gently he lifted her off his lap and placed her down on the carpet next to the fireplace, then sat next to her. "This is gonna sound weird, but I want you to stick your hand into the fire." Koneko's eyes grew wide. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Do you trust me?" He said, looking straight into her eyes.

Hesitantly Koneko reached out, tentatively testing the grounds as her fingers neared the fireplace. Slowly, very slowly she pushed her hand into the flames. "Why am I not getting burned?" She asked incredulously.

Issei reached out for the pile of wood next to the fireplace and pulled a chip of wood out of the pile. He held it in between himself and Koneko. "Reach out with your other hand, touch the wood and imagine the fire from the fireplace flowing through you to light it on fire." He said. Koneko once more did as she was asked. Issei watched as the wood started to glow and eventually combusted in flames. Quickly he tossed it into the fireplace. "Alright, you can take your hand out of the fire now."

"What did I just do?" Koneko asked. "Talk to me Issei!"

"You can control fire, Koneko. It appears," Issei said, "that along with your wings, you received something bestowed on very few of angel kind. We call it the Gift of Manipulation, or just the Gift for short. What these angels can manipulate is random, but each and every Gift is unique. There are a few ground rules to it, however. Gifts cannot be used against other who have Gifts. Using your Gift turns your blood acidic. The effects are temporary and you do develop a resistance to it over time, but overuse can kill you. When your blood turns acidic it starts to eat through the veins in your body. It first shows as a bloody nose, perhaps tears of blood. Then the flesh under your nails starts to bleed. Beyond that several smaller arteries on your arms and legs open up. Keep going," Issei stated, holding Koneko's gaze, "and you will fry your heart, brain, or die from blood loss.."

"So you have a Gift as well, I saw you bleed after the fight with Riser." Issei nodded. "You can control bone, can't you?" Koneko said.

"It's considered a very personal question to ask about one's Gift and an act of great trust to answer it." Koneko's face turned sad, thinking that was all Issei was going to say. Issei hesitated for a moment, then made up his mind. "A long time ago," he said, capturing Koneko's attention once more, "I was feared for my Gift. Mine is linked to life itself. I could make dead pets return, heal the most grievous wounds." Issei paused for a moment, a hint of longing in his eyes. "Over time, however, as certain… _events_…" he held Koneko's gaze, speaking the unspoken words to her, "came to pass, those aspects of me started to dwindle. First I lost the ability to heal the mind, then mend flesh. I have but a vague connection with blood now. All those things resemble life. What remains now is the ability to control bones. Death."

Koneko sat on his lap and embraced him tightly. "You will get the full extent of your Gift back. I will heal your spirit." She promised. "And don't you dare say it's a promise I'm not gonna be able to keep!" She said when she saw Issei making to speak up, mirroring Rias's earlier words.

"I wasn't going to. I think the power is already returning to me." Issei said. "I brought you back to the land of the living, didn't I?" He said, answering Koneko's unspoken question in her eyes. She tightened her embrace even further, burying her head in his chest again. "I love you Issei." She said.

There it was, those three words, those three _dreaded_ words Issei had hoped to avoid for a while longer. "I…" What was he to say? Did he love her? Was he going to make the leap of faith? _Would she hurt him again?_

No. Koneko would never intentionally hurt him. Not like that bitch Gabriel. "I…" He looked down into Koneko's expectant eyes. He felt the warmth swell within him as he took her in and realized he never wanted her to look at anyone else with those eyes. Those big, beautiful, hazel brown eyes. One last time, for her, he would offer the broken pieces of himself to another. There was no going back now. "I love you too." And they sealed their silent promise with kiss between lovers.


	13. Chapter 13

Hello everyone! I'm tired and loopy so imma keep it short:

diggerboy4: eventually Issei will wind up with everyone, it's gonna start with Koneko though. (i don't believe in getting all the girls at once).

Soundion: exactly three more chapters.

blackholelord: funny considering your name, but it is of course your prerogative to do so. Thanks for tagging along as far as you have!

: magnificent comment, please review more soon.

afroninja43: Thank you very much. So far I have not yet hit any blocks, so we are still going strong! I might start my own work of fiction after this story (who knows) on fictionpress or something. I could send you the link to that story when the time comes round if you'd like.

Enjoy chapter 13! ~O'Ryaner

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><p><em>Earth – Tokyo city<em>

Issei roamed the busy streets. What he was looking for he didn't know. Something had compelled him to be here. The week of vacation, though he was still getting used to the concept of 'girlfriend'. Over the last two months his and Koneko's relationship had blossomed, like a tender flower, in constant need of attention but oh so beautiful.

Ever since his fight with the Seraph something had felt off. A taint, spreading through the fabric of the world. Unnoticed to most, but a significant change for those with an aptitude towards it. Tonight, something had felt more off than usual and so he had done something he was used to. He followed his instincts. Today they told him to find the busiest place he could and observe.

It was night time, though you couldn't see the stars through the dense neon lighting and the big advertisement screens. How the world had changed over the last three hundred years. Rain poured down from the heavens, making everyone scurry along to their destinations. Most of the passerby's were covered in rain clothing or were holding up umbrellas. Not Issei, the rain did little to him. Clothes could be replaced, the body dried.

Suddenly he stopped and glanced into a dark alley. Something drew him in, begged him to seek in the darkness. Carefully he stepped into the shadows, giving his eyes plenty of time to adjust. The time he trailed through the muck filled alleyways, trailing through piles of garbage and scaring off rats and stray animals felt like hours. Issei was just about ready to give up when he heard quiet whimpers.

Slowly he turned the corner, his hand reaching for Aurora, concealed as a dagger within his jacket. Peeking out at him from behind a dumpster was a hint of white feathers. Something seemed off about them, they were dull, lifeless. And then there was the general smell of rot and sickness. Ever so quietly he stepped forward.

There, on the ground, lay none other than Gabriel, her clothes tattered, red circles under her eyes. "Oh god, what have you done?" Issei quietly asked, crouching down next to the barely conscious girl. When he received no reply he tried to turn her over. Her limbs were cold and grey and slippery wet due to the rain. When her body moved, but her wings remained on the ground, Issei felt a dread rise within him. Surely enough on her back, where the twelve shining white appendages had once graced her body, now only remained twelve, bloody stumps and the wounds were festering.

On closer inspection, the wings on the ground showed signs of progressed decay, patches of brown and green indicating where the rot had progressed most. Her once vibrant golden hair now appeared matted and was clotted with blood. Pulling the girl into his embrace he looked around, carefully taking in all the details.

Next to where Gabriel had been laying, a tourniquet along with a set of syringes and a few packets of white powder lay bundled under one of the garbage bags to prevent them from becoming wet. Carefully Issei stretched out her arm, turning it so he could look at the inside of her elbow. Surely enough the skin was reddish orange in discoloration with advanced scarring from repetitive needle injection.

Next to the syringes were a set of rusty, bloody files. The tools Gabriel had no doubt used to mar herself beyond recognition. Issei felt a shaky hand trace the outline of his face. "You look just like him…" the girl in his arms whispered. Gently Issei moved the strands of hair out of her face. He had wished so many times she would end here, but now that he saw her in her current state, his heart filled with sorrow.

"Just like who?" He quietly asked.

"He wouldn't come for me, not after what I did to him." Issei saw tears rise in her eyes. Gently he pressed her shivering frame to his. "I'm so sorry!" She sobbed. Issei felt her warm tears mingle with the cold rain already soaking his shirt. "I destroyed everything we had! I scarred his already so broken heart! I… I need…" She reached for the syringes.

"Why would you do that?" Issei asked, now certain she didn't recognize him.

"He's gone and I need to stay high… to keep him of my mind. I need to stay in this haze… I need to forget him for his own good… I don't deserve this life that's been given to me… I need to fade…" She said in disjointed jumbles. Issei moved his arms, so one was under her knees and the other just under her shoulder blades, careful to avoid her wounds and lifted her up.

"Noooooo!" Issei didn't know what to expect, but he sure as hell didn't think the fallen Seraph would start to wail and writhe in his arms, desperately trying to get out. "Gabriel!" He said forcefully. She continued to cry. "Gabriel!" He said once more, forcefully turning her head to face him. Her hands reached out to scratch his face. Issei carefully dodged the dirty nails. "Gabriel!" He yelled in her face.

Suddenly she stopped. "Issei?" she asked uncertainly, slowly reaching towards his face. "Are you real? Are you here to take me to candy land?" She was out of it alright. "Yeah, I'll take you to candy land." Issei said. His ears twitched as he heard very faint but certain footsteps drawing closer. "We will take the train in a moment, alright? You just wait here." He said, pressing a kiss to her forehead and gently placing her down.

Issei pulled Aurora from his jacket and formed it into a long stiletto. After a bare twenty seconds a hooded figure came around the corner. Issei moved quickly, pinning the man against the wall and pressing the dagger to the man's heart. "I should kill you where you stand." Issei said, recognizing his childhood friend in the figure.

"Please don't. I have come to defect." Issei shredded his mind apart, looking for a lie. Reluctantly he pulled away from the man but held Aurora at the ready. "Alright, you have my attention. Speak, and speak nothing but the truth." The man removed his hood, allowing long golden locks to flow from the man's shoulders. Behind him twelve wings spread. In his hands his sword and shield appeared.

"I have had my doubts for a while now, ever since _his_ death." Raphael said, referring to that faithful event over three hundred years ago.

"How did you find us?" Issei said.

"I found her." Raphael replied, gesturing to Gabriel's curled up figure. "When we try to use the Eye of the World on you, we only get static. I was able to trace her here. I didn't expect to find you."

"Why defect now? Why not two months ago?"

"Michael… he has crossed a line. I don't know what you did to him after he chased you down to earth, but you got him good. When he came back…" Raphael shuddered, closing his eyes and trying to banish the images that came to mind. "If you wanted the embodiment of evil, you have found it now. Nothing heavenly or divine remains within those eyes now." Raphael said.

"He tries to hide it, but I have seen the young angels that scurry to his rooms late at night, heard their dying screams as he tore them from limb to limb and feasted on their blood. Do you know what he did, Issei? Do you know how far his betrayal reaches?" Issei remained silent. "He raised the Seraph you slew from the dead, clothed their rotting corpses in new flesh. They don't speak, they are mere puppets now. I can see the screams in their eyes, I think deep inside they know what they have become."

Raphael looked genuinely sick to the core. "So Michael makes his first move. What of the remaining… true Seraph?"

"Sariel was in indecision, she is lost, Issei. She knows just like the rest of us what Michael has become, but she can't find the strength within herself to walk away from him. Raziel and Remiel… They might as well be with Michael's 'reborn'."

"Does Michael know you are here?" Raphael shook his head. "You realize that if I take either of you with me I will be in danger of being found, right?" The Seraph smiled and shook his head.

"I don't think so. Take a look." With that Raphael took the shield of his arm and raised it flat, like a tableau for Issei to see. Embedded in the center of the shield was a perfectly circular ring… engraved with very familiar runes. "You took the edge off the Eye of the World…" Issei said, gently tracing his fingers over the smooth stone. "This is of course blasphemy, but damn Raphael, you are one mad genius."

"What's more, if you place this ring over a regular bowl it functions just like the one they… used to have… up there." Raphael said excitedly.

Issei sighed and rubbed his temples. "I'm gonna have to wage a war on Michael now, don't I?" He asked.

"I'm afraid you can no longer run from your destiny Issei. Michael's days are over. He might be clinging to power like a madman, but the system has collapsed. Surely you have felt it by now. Prayers are no longer answered, exorcisms no longer work. If we don't act soon, the world will devolve into chaos."

"We are so fucked." Issei mumbled.

"Now, now. Don't be so negative Issei. I'm sure everything will work out in the end. Besides," Raphael said, "you have this stunning archangel on your side now." He struck a hero pose.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. First we see what my girlfriend thinks about you."

"Since when do your rock a girlfriend?"

"Since she was too stubborn to walk away after repetitive warning. Now help me carry her won't you." Issei said gesturing to Gabriel.

With a wave of his hand Issei cleared out a space large enough to cast a teleportation circle. Together they lifted Gabriel up and walked into the glowing white circle. On the other side they emerged in an almost dark room. Rias was packing up the last of her belongings, preparing to head out for the night. She looked up when the summoning circle opened and gasped as she saw the two angels carrying one of their fallen.

"Raynare!" Issei yelled. Hurried footsteps when the black winged girl ran into the room. "Yes master?" She asked, shooting an uncertain glance to the more-dead-than-alive Gabriel. "Fetch me some rags, a fileting knife and my cellphone." Issei instructed. "Rias, I'm very sorry to steal your evening from you, but could you assemble the rest of the ORC? I'll take care of Koneko. There is something all of you need to hear about and it's urgent."

She nodded and hurried off. "Let's put her down on the coffee table." Issei said. Raphael cleared out the surface with a firm swipe of his arm, letting what was resting on top clatter to the floor. Raynare ran back in and handed Issei the knife and the phone, then ran back out to fetch the rags.

She had truly been an exemplary slave, suffering through her servitude without much complaint. Perhaps it was time to start her healing process as well. Yes… tonight he would offer her the first choice. Quickly he dialed Koneko's number. "What…" came Koneko's tired voice form the other end of the line. "Hey sunshine. Sorry for ruining your sweet dreams about me, but I need you in the ORC. Quickly" He added.

She groaned and Issei heard the rustling of sheets. "I'll be there in a moment. Allow me to make myself… presentable first." She said. Two minutes later a summoning circle opened up and Koneko stepped out. She had made a point of mastering the art since their little escapade in Cologne. Her eyes went wide as she took in the lifeless form on the coffee table and the Seraph next to her.

Koneko walked over to Issei and hugged him. "What's happening?" she asked. He pressed a tender kiss to her lips. "Koneko, this is Raphael. He used to be… is once more… a friend of mine." He said, gesturing to the angel in question. "Raphael, this is Koneko, my… it still feels strange saying this, girlfriend."

The two shook hands, ignoring the traditional Japanese bowing greeting. "So you are the one who finally managed to get through to him? I'm impressed. Take good care of him."

"Raphael!" Issei shouted indignantly. "Regardless. The one on the table is Gabriel. I found her in Tokyo tonight. I would introduce you two, but she is a little out of it." Raynare walked back into the room and dropped a large bundle of old rags on the couch. "Raynare, I am going to tend to her wounds." Issei said, gesturing to Gabriel. "Would you like to help?"

"No." She replied solemnly.

"Ok, in that case you may leave." Raynare was silent for a while, not sure of what just happened. "I said you may leave." Issei repeated impatiently.

"That's it? No scolding? No punishment?" She asked uncertainly.

"I asked you a question. You were welcome to say no from the beginning. If I wanted you to do something I would have commanded you to." Raynare was silent, realizing it was the first question she had been asked in a long time.

"In that case…" she softly said, "I will help you." Unbeknownst to her a small smile spread on Issei's lips who was looking away from her. "Thank you, Raynare. I'm grateful you would assist me in operating on this angel."

"You are actually going to operate on her?" Raphael asked.

"Those wounds have festered, Raphael. They need to be tended to and we can't exactly walk into a hospital to have them do it." Issei deadpanned.

At that moment Rias came back, followed by Asia, Akeno and Kiba. Issei pulled up a chair close to the salon table and gestured for Raynare to have a seat on the carpet next to him. "Please, sit down." Issei said, pointing to the couch opposite him. "Raphael, could you soak the rags? The sink is over there." Issei said.

"Koneko, if you'd please?" He asked, holding the knife out to her. Koneko understood his request and bathed the knife in flame, sterilizing it. Carefully Issei tested the tissue around her wing bones, trying to find where the red, swollen tissue ended and the healthy tissue began. Taking a few centimeter margin to avoid removing too little –gentle healers made painful soars– he pushed the knife into her flesh.

Gabriel barely even whimpered when he began to cut into her rotting flesh. "It appears I have run out of time." Issei said, not once looking up from his task. "It's time the rest of you learned where I came from. Raynare, push a rag there and keep the pressure on." Gently he removed a large patch of dead tissue. "Rias, would you do the honors?" He asked

"Including… you know…. _The secret?"_ Rias asked tentatively.

"How else is your story gonna make any sense?" Issei replied.

Rias swallowed hard, then began her story. "Alright, someone hug Asia." Akeno did as Rias asked. "I'm gonna get this over with as soon as possible. God is dead, slain along with the original Maou."

"Noooo!" Asia burst into tears.

"How is that possible? Shouldn't the world have ended with the death of god?" Akeno asked, softly stroking the back of the crying girl.

"Michael took over to keep the system working, but it's rather rudimentary compared to the way God used to run it." Rias replied. "Regardless, according to legend when god was annihilated, nothing but a single feather remained. From this feather a new being grew. Not god, but not a regular angel either."

"Are you saying that Issei-"

"That feather right there." Issei said, pointing to his first right wing, pointing to the gold dusted feather on the primary, not looking up from his task. Then he proceeded to carefully scratch away the bone splinters which had embedded in the flesh underneath the infections.

"My boyfriend is the descendant of god?" Koneko asked with awe in her voice.

"I am the manifestation of god's anger and hatred, if you really want to look at it that way. Thank you for explaining Rias. Raynare, change that rag please." With a swish of his hand Issei cut through the protruding bones, taking a good portion of the blackened and brown grime with it. "Some think it's my destiny to take over heaven. It's a task I never hoped to have to take upon me, however, it seems we have run out of time. When I went to retrieve Koneko I made… a mistake." Issei said.

"You made a choice." Raphael said.

"A mistake." Issei corrected him. "To find her I snuck into heaven and used an artifact known as the Eye of the World to find her. It's capable of tracking almost every living being on earth, if the wielder is skilled enough. Unfortunately I was caught. In the resulting fight I slew four of the Seraph, wounded four more. Gabriel here," Issei said, cleaning off the wounds with a clean rag. "allowed me to escape them, however Michael gave chase. Through a combination of superior grace and skill-"

"Luck." Koneko intervened.

"By luck Koneko was able to knock him into an industrial machine which should have ground him to pulp. It, however, didn't. If my sources are correct," Issei said looking at Raphael, "what emerged on the other side was a being devolved into chaos. He even went as far as to bring the four Seraph I killed back to life. Those abominations now walk as shadows of their former selves, puppets to Michael."

Issei paused for a moment, carefully inspecting Gabriel's back. "Raynare, would you fetch some needle and thread? This new Michael is no longer capable of good and the system keeping the essentials, such as prayer and exorcisms, has collapsed. If no intervention is made, the world will slowly devolve into chaos. Michael need to be stopped, removed like the fester from a wound, before he tears this universe down with him. No matter how much I would like to turn and run, everyone who rallies against Michael is looking to me for answers and leadership."

Raynare came back and handed him a long curved needle and strong, black thread. "I'm afraid I was only able to find cloth thread, we don't have extensive surgical supplies here." She informed him.

"Thank you Raynare. Koneko?" he held out the needle. She pressed it between her fingertips, allowing the metal to glow red for a few seconds. "I'm going to wage a suicide one man war on heaven. If anyone wants to walk away from this right now, I will not hold it against you." Issei said, beginning to stitch up the wounds on Gabriel's back.

"Issei, do you remember what you said to me a few weeks ago?" Koneko said, moving over to him and embracing him from behind. Issei furrowed his eyebrows, trying to remember what she was referring to. "You said that with you nothing was certain, so that if we were going to do this, we were doing it full throttle." She buried her head in the nape of his neck. "I promised you that, Issei. Full throttle, to the very end. Now that I have you, I will not let you go. Not even for something as puny as a war."

Issei paused his stitching to lean his head into Koneko's, basking in her love for him. "Thank you." He whispered in her ear. She kissed his cheek before pulling back.

"I'm with you, Issei." Raphael stated. "And she will be to, once she recovers." He said gesturing to Gabriel.

Rias stood up. "I'm with you too, Issei. The devils will fight to maintain this world!" she said. "But like Issei said, the choice is personal. If any of you want to leave, you will not be considered stray." Rias said to her peerage.

"Silly King, where would your Queen go?" Akeno said, standing behind Rias.

"Don't think you are getting rid of your knight that easily, Rias." Kiba said, standing up as well.

"I would be dead if not for Issei and you, Buchou! I will help as well!" Asia said.

Everyone turned to Raynare. "Well, Raynare. It's time for you to make a choice." Issei said. He gestured to Gabriel. "Will she be the first, or the last?" Raynare sat down on the carpet, indecision across her face. _Think, Raynare. You could be free again!_ One side of her was saying. _But free in a world condemned to end in chaos._

"She will be the first."

"Good. If we want to stand any chance at all, we need to rally allies. Raynare, if this is gonna work, I need to be able to trust you. I want you to go to Azazel, explain to him what's happening and extend an invitation to meet me. Rias, I want you to do the same with your brother. I will take care of the church. The rest of you, get some rest. You are gonna need it."

Everyone went about their respective business. "Raphael, Raynare. You two can take Gabriel down the hall and to the right to my chambers. Raynare knows where it is. My bed is by far large enough to hold the three of you, I made it this morning. Feel free to use it until we can arrange something more permanent." He watched as the two lifted the unconscious girl off the table and carried her off.

Koneko remained in the room with him. "Why is she not in _anshara_?" Koneko asked, pointing at Gabriel who was being carried off.

"for _anshara_ to take hold, the blood needs to be pure. She has been taking drugs, so those will have to wear off and then some before she regains that ability… what the hell am I doing Koneko?" He asked, looking straight at her. "Your best." She replied.

"I'm going to wage a war on my home. I don't think that qualifies as sane, Koneko." He said. "You are waging a war on a psychopath who tried to kill you and the rest of the world." She corrected him. "Now stop doubting yourself. We have a church to rally under our cause."

"You are coming with me?" Issei asked.

"Full throttle, remember?"

And so Issei and Koneko found themselves in front of the Palazzo della Cencelleria, Rome, Italy. The seat of the Apostolic Signatura, the Supreme Tribunal. It was the final point of appeal for any ecclesiastical judgment, oversaw the administration of justice within the church and unbeknownst to many, oversaw the activities of exorcists and the angels who placed themselves in the service of the Vatican.

"Alright, let me do the talking, ok? And keep that cloak over your wings, otherwise you will draw unwanted attention. Also-"

"Issei!" Koneko pressed a kiss to his lips, shutting him up. "I can handle myself. Stop worrying."

"Just… don't die." Issei said, sagging his shoulders in defeat.

"We are visiting the Vatican, I am an angel. What could go wrong?"

"Actually, a lot. Although you have plenty of battle experience, you are still young in terms of angels. Immortality takes time to set in. Even an exorcist could kill you right now without much effort. There is so much you need to learn, especially concerning your wings. Your inability to hide them means you will always be a bigger target in fights until you learn how to use them to your advantage."

"There are ways to use your wings in a battle?" Koneko asked.

"Of course. Wings are heavy, which means you can use them to maintain balance, do unexpected maneuvers, easily back step attacks, knock dust into the eyes of your foes. All of that requires years upon years of practice, though. I will ask Kiba to spar with me when we return; you can see what I mean."

Together they stepped into the building. Issei dug up a large, gold coin. Inscribed on it was an old Latin phrase. Iuramento invoco in luce diei mortui cruentavit sepultusque est in nocte. _I call on the oath made at dawn, the blood spilled in the afternoon and the dead burried at night._ One was handed to every angel, in case they urgently needed to contact authority in the Vatican.

They crossed the mostly deserted foyer, heading for the neatly dressed man behind the counter. "I need to speak to the prefect." Issei said.

"I'm sorry, im afraid I can't allow you to-"

Issei tossed the coin onto the counter. "I said, I need to speak to the prefect."

"I will see if he has time-"

"Tell him the Hand of God is here." The man's eyes widened. Clearly the name had meant something to him. Quickly he scurried away, telling Issei to wait right where he was. "I probably shouldn't, but sometimes I love it when my reputation precedes me like this." He said, grinning to Koneko. She face-plamed and slapped him across the head.

"The prefect is between two meetings right now, but he has agreed to make time for you. Please follow me. We are dealing with a bit of a crisis, you see." The man said apologetically.

"No, I understand perfectly. Your exorcisms have stopped working; I'd be worrying my head off as well right now if I were him."

"You know?"

"Why else would I be here?"

They were led through the complex maze of the building. A few men up ahead were having a hurried conversation. "Yes, take care of it. I will try to find out what I can." A young man with auburn hair said. Quickly he turned away from his companions and headed to Issei and Koneko. "My sincerest apologies. I am archbishop Cromett, but you may call me Joshua. How can I be of service to you?"

"You can read this letter. It's an invitation. Tickets are included, but the plane leaves in three hours, so I would not wait too long. Good day to you, Joshua Cromett." Issei nudged Koneko and together they turned and left.

"Is that all you are going to say to him?" Koneko quietly whispered.

"He is young. Young ones are never able to resist mystery. Not only will he read the letter the utmost care now, he will be excited to go where he is going too. Not something I can say myself." Issei replied. "Let's get back home and sleep. We will need all our strength to keep the meeting tomorrow from going down in flames.

They found an abandoned office and cast their teleportation circle. The ORC clubroom was abandoned and dark. Of course, everyone was out doing his bidding after all. That's when Issei remembered. Gabriel and Raphael were in his bed now. "Damn." He silently swore.

"What's wrong?" Koneko asked.

"I forgot I gave my bed to Gabriel and Raphael tonight. Although I don't necessarily need to sleep, I find it… calms my nerves. Although no one has crawled into bed with me since that first night…" Issei silently mused.

"I forbid them from doing it. You are mine." Koneko said. "and you can stay with me tonight. If you would like that at least." She added, blushing like mad. Issei smiled and kissed her.

"You jealous little minx. You will get into trouble if you do things like that without telling me." He scolded her.

"perhaps I want to get in trouble." Koneko said, winking at Issei.

"Hush now, I will stay with you tonight. Rias already thinks me a tease, I don't need you to think that as well."

"Issei, how long have we been together now?" Koneko asked quietly.

"The better part of two months. Why?"

"I can't help but find myself longing for… more."

"More?" Issei asked, uncertain what she meant.

"Yeah… _more_" Koneko said, emphasizing the word. Issei's eyes widened in understanding before a slight red tinge graced his cheeks as well. "I feel as if I'm not good enough for you." She whispered insecurely. "Don't you want… _more_?"

"Love, I only want what you give me."

"Then what if I give you _more_?" Koneko said.

"Then I want _more_. But what if you were to fall?" Issei stated, tenderly embracing her.

"Then you will fall with me."

"But I'm the closest thing to god there is. I can't fall."

"Then tell me how an angel would fall from loving her god." He nuzzled her face and tightened his embrace. His heart felt warmed knowing that she wanted to be his and only his.


	14. Chapter 14

Hello everyone. Insecurity strikes! (first mature content scene ever. Please do let me know how I did.)

Shout outs:

: magnificent comment can't wait for more, please comment soon.

13loop: Indeed they are little one! I am fairly excited myself too, since I'm just kinda winging it. For instance, I thought up the contents of chapter 17 in the shower today! We will see if you guessed right soon ;).

Lighting-Squall: Here you go, more for you to read!

Nintendoes Gamer: what loophole exactly?

Kaioo: in the butt.

TheMage22: Thank you! (Yes, I always make a point out of making replies at least one word shorter than the comment)

Guest: Patience is a delicate matter, young kohai.

PS. THIS STORY STILL NEEDS A COVER! And I'm not _that_ gifted of an artist. Feel free to contact me if you feel particularly inspired to draw something.

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><p><span><strong>Warning: This chapter contains mature explicit content - <strong>if that's not what floats your boat, I wonder what you are doing reading an M rated story from the HSDxD repository. Regardless, feel free to scroll down until the language becomes a little less... steamy shall we say. Some story progression happens at the end of the chapter.**  
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><p>"Then you shall have to catch me." Koneko said.<p>

"Excuse me?"

"Come on, an angel powerful as you must be capable of temporarily shifting forms. You can change your wings; you can change your body, right?" Issei looked at her with a bewildered expression. "I have many abilities. I could create a small sun here on earth if I wished. Why would you like me to change my physical appearance?"

"Oh come on, do you know nothing of Nekomata?" He searched his mind, shifting through memories, finding nothing. No… wait a memory.

"_Nekomata are rare, we need to ensure we only reproduce with others of our kind." Issei looked at the man he had saved so many times before. The man who was about to become the father of his second child. "Nature gave us that failsafe." He said._

"_You still haven't told me what drove you to take a wife." Issei said. The man smiled and patted him on the shoulder._

"_Many of us try to hold the feline side of ourselves at bay, but there is one thing we have never been able to rid ourselves of." At that moment his wife came out and they shared a tender embrace. Tenderly they stroked one another's ears. He moved his hands across the swell of her stomach. "How is our little Kuroka?" He asked his wife._

"_Were you about to tell him our dirty, little, secret?" The wife asked with a giggle, ignoring his question. The man simply gave a stupid grin._

"_Sorry. Do you want to do the honors?"_

"_You see, we Nekomata, contrary to popular belief, are not human-catlike hybrids. We are actually full cats, who, long ago, were granted a gift by Hekate, the goddess of everything primal. Our ancestors were the guardians of her dwelling. Always there is this urge, beckoning us to return. We fight it, but sometimes when our… urges… become strong," she gave her husband a heated look, "we simply have to give in."_

_Issei gave the pair a bewildered look. This was in none of the records and was certainly new to him. Not much was anymore these days. "Are you telling me Nekomata can shift into cats?"_

Before him Koneko kneeled down as her body began to change shape, sprouting long, soft, white fur. As she grew in size her clothes tore away around her body. Her tail and ears fluffed out until before him was a white wolf. A _very_ large fox, with a strong body, sharp claws and flawless white teeth. "You're a fox nekoshu?" he asked.

"_Nekoshu developed the ability to disguise the tail. Dead giveaway otherwise. I'm happy that I at least didn't sprout wings in this form. Your turn."_ Koneko's voice echoed through his mind. He watched as she made for the window and lithely jumped out. This was mad. This is not what he signed up for! None of this was what he signed up for! His shape shifting was _rusty_ at best. Weren't they supposed to date first? You know when two people like each other and go out with each other and have fun? Not in her dictionary apparently. It was _her _who wanted more, wasn't it? Issei softly swore a few un-bible worthy curses.

_What would she like?_ Another fox? Probably a safe guess. It had to be just as big and strong and graceful as her. It had never been his favorite animal, not like the phoenix, but his teacher, who had taught him animorphy a little over a hundred and fifty years ago had insisted he stay in every form he learnt for at least a day. He was really _really _thankful for that now. He dug deep within his mind finding the glyphs that described his desired form, took out his knife and began to carve on the floor. They were sharp, simple signs which originated form an ancient civilization some thirty-thousand years old. From Hekate's people. After Koneko's parents had told him the story he had pursued the knowledge and found it. An old sage, deep in the Himalaya mountains had given in to him after he spent a small week camping out on the doorstep of his primitive hut.

Fox _Hyètä_, Teeth _Aknya_, Size _Szujme_, Strength _Ëtos_, Fur _Cìf_, Night _Naknã_, Vision _Yrè_, Male _Pan_. He hesitated before inscribing the final word of the circle. Mate _Mátë._ With that he slashed across the palm of his hand, allowing the blood to spurt forth. Slowly he turned around, allowing plenty of blood to seep across the runes. Quickly he pulled off his clothes, tossing them into his chambers before stepping into the circle once more.

An eerie red glow began to emanate from the runes as the magic took hold. He felt his body change and mold to its new shape. Issei closed his eyes. He always grew nauseous during the shift between human and fox vision. When the magic ebbed away, he trotted over to a puddle of his own blood and glanced into the reflective surface. A jet black fox with eyes of pure icy blue stared back at him. Good, the magic had worked.

Issei felt the fox's instincts tugging at his mind, beckoning him to the hunt. He shook it off and leaped out of the window, the sweet scent of Koneko permeating the air. With a dull thud his massive paws hit the dirt two floors down. He turned into the scent trail, following it right into the darkness of the forest. Issei set a fast pace, aiming to catch up with Koneko.

After some five minutes something large and white collided with his side. Koneko stood atop him, pressing his shoulders into the ground with her own paws. _"Bigger." _Koneko said.

"_Huh?" _Koneko got off him, allowing him to get to his feet again.

"_You are a foot or so bigger than myself!"_ After she said it she put her paws around his neck as if they were about to wrestle. He felt her teeth come down onto his ear as she snarled. It didn't hurt but served to annoy him greatly. He tried to get her off him but she moved with him, clamping her jaws over his snout instead.

Issei bared his teeth and fought back, shaking his head to break her jaw lock. When he felt her teeth lose grip he lunged forward and bit into the soft fur of her flank. Koneko struck his chin and sank her own teeth into the soft fur of his chest, their fight turning into something more akin to play. Once she found a window she disengaged and bolted into the forest again.

Quickly Issei found her scent as he leaped into action again, crunching the pine needles under his paws. Soon he saw Koneko's form nimbly diving between trees. With a powerful lunge he hit her side. They tumbled over one another, both refusing to give in. Their tumble ended in a small fern covered clearing with a pool of clear water in the middle.

Not pausing Issei pushed Koneko onto the ground, using his shoulders and paws to pin her down against a nearby tree while his fangs bit into her scruff. Issei was still growling and ready to continue whereas Koneko lay still, whining softly.

Issei waited for her to make a move, his teeth still embedded in his neck. Her own growling had long since stopped. He pushed against her flank with his shout, as if saying "c'mon, what are you waiting for?" and still she remained unmoving. After a time, Issei released her fur and looked at her. He stood with his tail proudly standing out in the air as Koneko's tail lay to the side. She did not appear angry or hurt, rather she looked like she was… waiting. He felt her tail swish against his leg, lifting up the air around them. He looked down into her hazel brown eyes with suspicion.

"_What is that sweet smell you're giving off. I smelt it before in your human state, but I don't recognize it."_

Koneko reached out and licked his noce once, twice, thrice. Issei's ears pricked up in excitement and he was temporarily paralyzed, dumbstruck.

"_You understand now, you dunce?"_

Right after she said this Koneko shrunk back into her human form, her cat tail temporarily unveiled as the wolf tail it truly was. It didn't take long for Issei to regain control and will himself back into his human form. He stood in front of Koneko, still breathing a little hard from their game. Koneko looked away from him, a red blush on her face and covering her modesty. Issei doubted it was from their little scuffle.

"You… really do understand, right? I do not have to… explain it any further, do I?"

Hesitantly Koneko stepped closer to Issei, slowly closing the distance behind them, her wings flared behind her in an awesome display, amplified by the darkness of the night and the reflecting pool behind her. They embraced one another and sank onto a soft bed of ferns, not minding the cold touching their skin. For once Issei made the first move and bent his head to kiss Koneko, slanting his lips over hers and sliding his tongue across her teeth. Koneko mimicked his openmouthed movements and kissed him back using her tongue far more expertly then Issei – She had seen countless devils do this sort of messy thing many times in the past. Those devils had thought retreating to the 'safety' of the underwordly forests where she hid during her 'stray' period would grant them privacy. And most times, they did more than kissing.

Her tail swished slowly as they continued to kiss. Issei brought his hand up and sank his fingers into her hair, threading them through the long warm strands. It sent an electrifying sensation coursing through Koneko's body, one that she had never experienced in her life. Koneko drew him nearer, her hands at his back bringing him closer to her. He felt her small breasts press against his chest. The hair on Issei's chest was warm and inviting against her fair skin. Koneko released his mouth to take a quick breath. Issei took the brief opportunity to do the same before reinitiating the kiss tongue first. They savored each other. Issei had never before been with a woman, but now that he was, he was becoming blank as to what to do next. When he smelled a whiff of her musk, however, his body reacted without his mind, a primal urge rising within.

Her scent filled his head and his lungs. Issei moved his lips away from hers and pressed his nose against her neck, inhaling deeply her own natural scent. It was feral, not quite human, but all female. He inhaled once more before kissing her neck, purposely scratching her skin with his teeth. Koneko let out a breath and tilted her head so her nose was in his hear. He smelled more or less the same to her as he usually did, however she picked up something that was different. He smelled a little more like the earth, the forests, more… desirable.

She felt his teeth running along the skin of her neck and she responded by closing her own lightly over the tip of his right ear. Issei grunted and sank his teeth deeper into the crook of her neck. Not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to leave marks. Koneko let out a small gasp as Issei moved his head so his face fell below her collar bone. He took one of her breasts into his hands and squeezed lightly, making Koneko give a small cry. She squirmed slightly against him in response. Issei paused to look at her as she lay sprawled out beneath him. Her hair fanned out among the leaves and fresh pine needles, her tail moving lazily about. Her skin became flush in the areas he kissed her as well as her face. She was breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling with each breath she took. Her scent was everywhere, intoxicating Issei with it.

Koneko took the opportunity and leapt forward, pushing Issei backwards making him fall onto his back against the snow. He tensed at the sudden cold on his back and shivered audibly.

"And here I was thinking I was warming you up so well. I guess I'll have to try a bit harder."

Koneko had turned the tables and had Issei pinned beneath her. She straddled his waist, making Issei feel the heat that was originating at the base of her tail. She then leaned forward and took his lips in hers once more. Issei brought his hands up to smooth his palms up her thighs and settled them onto her hips. Their longing poured into the kiss, the act itself becoming more aggressive as their pent up frustrations began to surface. Koneko moved her head past his collar bone and trailed her tongue down Issei's sternum. She smiled before biting into his flesh, making Issei jolt in surprise. Unlike Issei's bite, Koneko bit into his skin drawing a little blood from the reddened flesh. She licked it affectionately and moved on.

She bit his lower lip, ran her teeth over his chin nipping at the very tip of it and leaving another mark. She pressed her middle more into his waist, her body becoming more and more relentless. Sooner or later they would have to cease in their maddening little foreplay, her insisting manner becoming more prominent as the number of bite marks she left on his torso increased.

Issei began to feel the heat rise into his loins as well, as his lower body was slowly starting to come alive. Once more Issei reversed their positions, pushing Koneko under him again and pinning her. This time, he would make sure not to let her move them again.

He bent forward and took a light bud into his mouth, suckling it gently while kneading the other one slowly in rhythm with his mouth. Koneok let out a moan and clutched his head in her hands, her nails raking through his scalp and making him tremble in response. He moved his mouth to the other breast and gave it the same treatment; however his other hand did not knead the other one in turn. Instead, he trailed his hand down Koneko's body, letting fingertips brush her skin in a teasing manner and making her wriggle beneath him. It isn't until he gets to her navel that Koneko becomes alarmed.

"I-Issei…"

Her voice comes out low and breathy, as if she ran across the track field at full speed. He must've been doing something right as he saw her face even redder than before. Still, he does not heed her call and continues. His mouth becomes more forceful on her breast, closing his teeth gently over the bud and making her cry out. She arched her back and ran her fingers over his head. Issei then moved his hand lower and closed his palm against the hotness between her legs. Koneko moaned loudly and bit the nail on her pinky finger, her aroused state drugging her senses.

"Koneko…"

Her name rolled off Issei's tongue so easily and, from what Koneko could hear, so lovingly. His fingers sank into her wet folds. Koneko nearly shrieked and jumped a little. She squirmed and moved against him, moaning in rhythm with his hand.

Issei felt himself become hard at hearing her voice say his name. He flipped her over and brought her up, nuzzling her neck with his nose, then moved his fingers back into her core. Koneko let out a cry of alarm, moving lightly to her left, facing her front away from him, but kept looking over her shoulder, straight into Issei's eyes. Issei felt her tail move to the side, ready to receive him. His hand left her front for a moment as he readied himself.

"Issei… be gentle with me."

He looked at her, grinning as he caught the mischievous grin playing at her luscious lips. Now she was being coy. He kissed her lips and pressed their foreheads together.

"I love you Koneko."

Issei said the words as he entered her slowly, making Koneko let out a small cry and tossing her head over his shoulder while moving relentlessly against him. Issei ran his tongue over her ear and slowly began to move. Koneko writhed against him and raked her nails along his thigh, her body trembling and trying to adjust to him. Issei groaned at feeling just how tight Koneko was, the softness of her wings trapped in between them. Koneko was tense and moaning loudly. He moved again, slower but still bringing his hand back to her mound and caressing it.

Issei moved against her, sliding in and pulling out evenly while kissing her neck and nibbling on her ear. Koneko sank her nails in the flesh of his thighs and turned her head to kiss him on the lips. Issei sped up his rhythm and sank deeper int Koneko, moving a little faster and harder. Koneko released his lips, a small string of their saliva stretching between their mouths, and whines, almost sounding on the verge of tears. Issei felt he was harming her doing it this way, but was unable to hold back his animalistic impulses. To try and ease her, Issei kissed the nape of her neck and held her by the hips, adding some support.

Her amorous moans rose into near sobbing whines and then fell into throaty purrs and satisfied hums. They were panting and breathing heavily now; their bodies rocking and moving. Koneko felt him inside her, the pain ebbing into pure pleasure and becoming easier to manage. Issei picked up the pace and moved faster, his speed making him thrust harder in her. Waves of pleasure coursed through Koneko's body as Issei pressed himself further into her. Issei moved their angle so he was now mounted directly on top of her and she was on all fours. He bent over so his chin came to rest on her shoulder and slipped his hand into hers, never stopping his movements.

Her tail flailed about as they moved passionately. Koneko moved her hips and matched Issei's movements, the unexpected movement making Issei growl against her ear. His primal urges were stronger now, his hips speeding up until he was nearly pounding into her. Koneko moaned his name and she collapsed forward as her arms gave out from beneath her, making her rear stick out while her head rested atop her arms. Issei could not reach her, but remained bent forwards, their hands still locked and intertwined. He moved with a ferocity that was entirely primitive, groaning and speaking her name over and over. Bodies moved in unison, voices rang out and cried out their love for one another. Koneko felt a ball of pressure form in her womb and felt she was close, her body hot and nearly spent.

Issei's eyes were glazed as he felt the same thing building in his own guts. Their bodies burned as they moved, their heat radiating off them in waves. He felt her insides tighten around him and he moved harder, the flurry of sensations making it hard to breathe.

Koneko screamed out Issei's name as the pressure burst within her, making her body quake. Issei felt it happen, felt her warmth consume him. He let out a fierce grunt and with one final thrust emptied into her. Koneko let out a silent cry as she felt the white hot pressure burst forth a second time, making her body tremble. Issei fell forward, catching himself on his free arm so he didn't crush her. He kissed up her back, the nape of her neck and circled his head to kiss his lover's lips. Koneko responded lazily, her body feeling gloriously spent and a bit shaky, as well as a bit sore.

Issei lowered his body, nestling in the ferns and facing the pond with Koneko in his arms. For a while they lay ther in the afterglow, just staring into each other's eyes and smiling at seeing their faces so flushed and sweaty. Issei smiled sheepishly when he saw the bite marks he left on Koneko's neck and cheeks. Koneko, in turn, looked at the bite marks she had left on his chest and upper body but she had a sort of proud look in her eyes. Issei took a strand of her hair and rubbed it thoughtfully between his fingers, liking the feel of it.

After more time had passed, Koneko turned herself so she was on her back and her head rested on Issei's arm as were it a pillow. He looked down at her and caressed her afce with his hand. Koneko took it and held it against her cheek, rubbing his palms against her face. When slowly he became aware of his surrounding again something was different. His eyes widened as he gently reached out to touch the leaves of the plants around him.

"What's wrong?" Koneko asked, sitting up next to him. He sat up as well and looked her in the eyes.

"I feel everything…" Issei said.

"What do you mean, love?'

"I feel… everything, Koneko. Space. The air. The vibrations of the earth. The people. I can feel the gravity. I can feel the rotation of the world. The heat leaving my body. The blood in my veins. I can feel my brain, the deepest parts of my memory." Slowly the forest around them began to radiate life. A lush bioluminescence spreading over the leaves as they sensed the presence of their maker nearby. Out of the woods emerged a beautiful silver-white elk calf, who walked over to them and gently nuzzled Koneko's hand.

"The memories in your brain. The pain in your mouth when your teeth began to break through as a toddler. The feeling of your mother's hand when you ran a fever. You stroking the cat, it was so soft."

"What cat?"

"A Siamese with blue eyes and a broken tail."

"Yes… I remember now. I must have been less than three years old when she died. I can't possibly remember that. How did you pull that knowledge from my brain if even I don't have it?"

"I remember the taste of your mother's milk in your mouth. The room, the liquid. The thousand kisses they gave you. Let me show you. Please." Koneko looked at him with frightened eyes. "Please." He begged her. Slowly she nodded. Gently he embraced her and stretched his mind out to hers, uncertain how to go about what he was about to attempt. He pulled her spirit into his body. He held her limp body pressed tightly to him as he allowed her to see the world through his eyes.

The plants and insects around him, he did not see them only as such. The lifelines, the blood, the flesh, the _life_. All of it was open to him, free to his manipulation. He reached out hand, molded the wood like it was clay in his hands until the tree in front of him was an intricate living statue of Koneko, slightly smiling and holding a flower. It did not affect his blood, for that was open to his manipulation too. He was able to immediately suppress the acidity, allowing for practically limitless use. He then pushed her back into her own body and saw her eyes look at him in wonder. "Koneko, I feel so in touch with the world, like when I was very _very _young. But at the same time I feel like I'm somehow disconnecting from it."

"No, Issei! You will stay here, with me. I will keep you grounded to this world." She said, forcefully kissing him. He replied with equal vigor.

"Yes, Koneko. For it was no one but you who returned this gift to me. Just like you promised you would." He got up and took her in his arms, bridal style. He kissed her and whispered in her ear. "Where is your home?" She gave him directions to the small house in the woods. He covered them in an invisibility spell, spread his wings and took off. Swiftly the pierced the night skies. Koneko snickered in arms. "What is it?"

"Who knew that all you had to do to unlock your abilities again was get laid." Issei gave her a scolding look. Soon they came up on Koneko's house, Issei's sharp eyes spotting the slight discoloration against the forest around it. Not much later Issei gently put down Koneko on her. She held up the covers for him in invitation and snuggled close to the warmth of his body. Gently he becan to hum a tune, lulling her to sleep. "What are you humming?" She asked.

"It's a lullaby. All angels know it and it came to mind."

"Would you sing it for me?"

"A worldly language would do it little justice. It's meant to be sung by multiple voices, though. There is no 'singing' the tune. It requires at least seven people." Then he got an Idea. "If you like, I could pull you into my mind. I think I could recruit a few emoticlones to sing it for you." Koneko nodded.

"I'd like that." She replied sleepily. Gently he reached for her mind again, this time pushing her own into hers. A perfectly harmonic choir filled her head, silently singing her the tune.

_Stretched out, stretched out on the grass. A boy and a girl._

_Savoring their oranges. Giving their kisses like waves exchanging foam._

The choir hummed the tune again, using the same harmonies. Then they engaged in the second verse.

_Stretched out, stretched out on the beach. A boy and a girl._

_Savoring their limes. Giving their kisses like clouds exchanging foam._

He grew suspiciously silent. "What comes next?" Koneko asked, not wanting the beautiful song to end. "I don't like the third verse. I will sing it to you if you want, though." Koneko nodded. "I should warn you, the song is about… actually, you will find out." The music turned dissonant, the chords closely resembling the previous uplifted ones, but just… off.

_Stretched out, stretched out underground. A boy and a girl._

_Saying nothing, never kissing. Giving silence_

_For silence_

The choir continued to hum the tune. "This song is to remind us of the mortality of love. It is sung to us from the very first day of our existence and stays with us till the last." Koneko gently embraced him. "That's so sad." She said. He smiled and returned the embrace. "Sleep now, love. Morning will come way too soon."


	15. Chapter 15

Wow... _three whole reviews_... in _five days_... such animo for M rated scenes. I should write fewer of them, doesn't seem to do well for my review scores. Anyways, I will thank those of you who _did_ review:

Sunsengnim: Your words are too kind! I will try my best to give the other girls as much attention, but since I am a _little _inexperienced at this, I can't guarantee the quality.

: magnificent comment, please comment more soon.

Guest: Thank you! I will now have to be creative as to what he can do with them ;)

The following morning Issei gently kissed his Koneko awake. "Love, we need to go freshen up. The meeting will take place in half an hour." Koneko yawned and stretched out like a cat, before nuzzling herself into his warmth again.

"It's too early." She complained, keeping her eyes closed. "Who plans a meeting at six in the morning anyways?"

"Someone who has no time to waste… except with his beautiful girl with wings of fire that is. Now let's go. We need to wash ourselves and you only have one shower." Issei replied.

"Will you shower with me?" She asked in a seductive tone.

"You have no idea how much I'd love to, but we are on a deadline and I am a man with little control when it comes to you. Behave and I might dry your wings for you once you are done." Issei did just that after she had showered. Quickly he rinsed himself down as well, before pulling on his usual attire and quickly kissing his girl. Then they went through the teleportation circle.

The meeting was not held anywhere near Japan, or Italy, or the homebase of the Grigori. Issei had pulled a few strings to ensure the meeting would be on neutral ground. Once, a long time ago he had prevented a large swindle of money from the United overseas Bank in Singapore. The grateful CEO had insisted on rewarding him. As the bank had held nothing Issei wished for at the time, the man had settled for a favor, somewhere in the future.

Their current headquarters was the 123rd tallest building in the world and had a large meeting room on the top floor with a breathtaking view over downtown Singapore with the sea behind it. Issei had insisted the top five floors remain locked and absolutely _no one _was allowed through without an invitation or his direct, verbal consent. The top floor of the building was a large, saucer shaped room, large enough to host a party of at least one hundred people. Now, in its very center was a large conference table.

The rising sun was on the eastern horizon when Issei and Koneko walked out of the room reserved for summoning circles. As they grew closer to the meeting room they could hear shouting and bickering. "It looks like they already got a head start on us…" Issei sighed, before squaring his shoulders and stepping into the room.

"Silence!" He shouted over everyone else. Suddenly everyone was quiet and looked at him with big eyes. Issei looked around the room. Raphael and Raynare looked at him with slight smiles. All four of the Maou, Sirzechs, Serafall, Beelzebub and Asmodeus were present. Each with the queen of their peerage.

"When I heard about the situation I thought the rest of the Maou should be informed." Sirzechs said. Issei nodded, moving on to the next set of people. Representing the fallen angels were Azazel and Shemhazai, along with three regular fallen angels acting as body guards. Staring daggers at both groups was Joshua Cromett, who brought two of his fellow court members and six exorcists, clad in church uniform.

"Alright, first of all," Issei said, "is anyone in here _not_ convinced of the necessity of this meeting?" Issei looked around, daring anyone to speak up. "Is anyone in here _not _aware of the current situation?" Once more silence filled the room. "Good, at least that's a start. Have a seat everyone." Issei said, gesturing to the conference table. "The purpose of this meeting, plain and simple, is to forge a plan of action against Michael. He must be stopped at all costs. Should any of the three present parties not wish to participate, now is the time to say so."

"The church shall not wage war on Heaven!" one of Cromett's court members said. Immediately Joshua stepped in, pushing the man back into his seat. "What father Laurent wished to say," he said, shooting the man an angry look, "was that we have concerns pertaining the thin line we are walking. Is the enemy Michael, or Heaven? Is there any personal gain in it for anyone? Isn't it convenient you get to take over, should we succeed?"

"I assure you the last thing I wanted was this. I have absolutely no desire for power, it only corrupts and destroys. There is personal gain in this for everyone – the world continues to exist. Heaven is a necessity, just like the underworld and the earth. Waging a war on it would be nothing but destructive." Issei assured the two men.

"Will there not be spoils of war to be divided afterwards?" Beelzebub asked.

"Always. So. Egoistic." Issei muttered. "No, Beelzebub. There is your life to be won. Will that suffice?" Issei looked around the room. "Let me state it clearly for everyone. As it is right now, your lives will come to a miserable end within the next three years. The _only_ way there is a _chance _you all get to keep your puny, miserable, pathetic existences is to remove the leach that is Michael from this world and _pray_ that I prove powerful enough to replace the system." Issei said with an irritated voice.

Complete and utter silence. "Well then," Azazel said eventually, "If it's beyond debate that there is a war to be waged-"

"we will not cooperate with those exorcists!" Serafall shouted. That being said the whole room collapsed in unorganized shouting. Issei sighed and fought the urge to end everyone in the room where they stood, knowing he was fully capable of it. Deciding against shouting again, he brushed against everyone's mind, relaying his message mentally.

"_Once, a long time ago, Michael told me why it's necessary we live in a world bound by rules and borders. The nature of existence is to be egoistical, to fight for one's survival. It's difficult for individuals to work together and without those rules and boundaries, the world would devolve into a perpetual war."_

Everyone had grown quiet during his little speech. "And here we are, proving him right." Issei finished aloud. "Heaven," he continued, "is a fortress. It's almost impossible to get there, let alone conquer it. Michael isn't stupid. By now he realized two of his Seraph defected. He knows we move against him, but he is confident he will need to expend no effort to keep Heaven. Conquering it requires an army so great; it could only in theory be done if all the forces on earth stood against him collectively. Something he thinks us incapable of."

"He thinks devils incapable of putting someone else before themselves." Issei looked at Serafall, Sirzechs, Beelzebub and Asmodeus. "He thinks fallen angels incapable of working together as a unit." He looked at Azazel. "He thinks angels and exorcists incapable of turning on their own home, even if it's rotten." He said, looking at Cromett. Issei let the silence hang in the room for a while. "Are we?" he eventually asked.

It was the silence of a made decision that hung in the room. "We can't just pull all our forces together; it would leave our homes undefended and alert Michael immediately. What's more," Asmodeus said, "if we are going to do this, we need a place to hide an army." Ever so slowly Cromett leaned forwards, placing his hands on the table. Everyone was watching him expectantly.

"The church has some two-and-a-half-million exorcists. If we stretch duties and scrap any leave that was scheduled, we can free… perhaps a good four-hundred-thousand of them." Four-hundred-thousand. A number he challenged the other parties to match.

"We can make the Grigori go dark. We have no children or homes to protect, only our order. Buildings can be replaced. If we mobilize everything we have, the fallen angels can contribute, to the angel exact, 391.951 people, myself included." Azazel said softly, submitting himself to the necessity of the cause. He buried his face in his hands, contemplating the gravity of the decision he just made. So much done in so few words.

With that all attention turned to the Maou. With mixed feelings everyone awaited their reply. Would the devils finally come out of hiding? "One-hundred-thousand." Serafall said.

"One-hundred-thousand." Sirzechs said.

"One-hundred-thousand." Asmodeus said.

"One-hundred-thousand." Beelzebub said.

Everyone in the chamber was quiet. This is where the doom of this world was to be decided. An army of perhaps 1.2 million would march on Heaven. "I might have another suggestion." The other father Cromett had brought said. "There is an atoll, a small settlement on it. The people there are strongly religious; the church could have them moved. Usually getting there would be impossible to hide from prying eyes. However, if the devils could employ their teleportation circles in our service…"

The four Maou nodded in agreement. "Would you four help me place a shroud over the isle?" Issei asked them. Once more they nodded. Issei dug up six cellphones and placed them on the table. "In there," Issei said, "you find everything you need, ranging from funds, which I have plenty of, to contact information." He looked at the four Maou, at Azazel and at Cromett. "This is your last chance. Pick up the phone and you are committed."

One by one they took the sleek, black devices from the table. "Alright, get me numbers, Joshua, you get me the coordinates of that island. We need to start making duty rosters, decide on the chain of command, make a plan of action." Issei said. "I suggest everyone returns to their respective homes now, prepare as much as you can and we will meet again in three days." General nods of approval. "Any suggestions for the location?" Issei said.

Three days later they met again on the Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland. This time no one brought entourage, not even Issei. It was just the four Maou, Azazel, Cromett and him. There they made up the final drafts on the numbers, set rally dates and marshal plans, planned out their center of operations and made a rough outline of what duties were to befall whom.

Asmodeus and Beelzebub had no desire to command in battle, instead they forfeited their troops to Serafall and Sirzechs. Joshua, who wasn't a natural born fighter, took the logistics upon him. Azazel offered to help make the final roster with Issei, who gladly accepted the help. One week before the troops were set to move to Tristan da Cunha, the small island far off the African coast, Azazel and Issei convened to make the final plans.

"So we have the regular troop branches. Five of them in total. We have to attach medics to those. We need people to gather Intel, we have Cromett's logistical branch. We will need to make a division for special operations as well, just for the eventuality that we need to act surgically." Azazel summarized.

"If we are going to split our medics up like that, we are going to need more than one commander on that. Say we take two, we have… ten of them from the top of my head." Issei replied.

"Sirzechs, Serafall and I are going to head up combat troops for sure. Cromett wanted to take the support branch and mentioned something about two very gifted exorcists who might be capable of fulfilling such a role." Azazel said.

"Alright, let's say that Sirzechs, Serafall, you and Cromett's two exorcists take the main combat roles. I have to commit Raphael somewhere for sure, he is expecting as much. That leaves us three roles to divide yet." Issei said, circling the question marks on the paper.

"I leave those in your two, very capable hands, Issei." Azazel said, looking over the paper. "All these divisions, these battalions and brigades. All these respective ranks are going to need names." He said. "And," Azazel added, looking at Issei, "you will have to give this army a name." When Azazel saw Issei's look of protest he quickly said "this army is so massive people need clear structure and terminology. You can't have over a million people run around and expect everyone to simply know what to do. They need guidance. If they didn't, having any chain of command is completely useless."

Issei nodded. "I will take care of it, then. Take care, Azazel. I will see you with your angels in seven days when we leave for Tristan da Cunha, for war." The two were about to leave when dark clouds gathered above their heads at an unnatural rate.

"Michael?" Azazel asked Issei.

"No, I would sense him. There are far more angels on the other side, but I sense no malign intent." Issei said. One by one, three winged angels began to descend from heaven, gathering up in neat squadrons. From each group one angel broke formation and floated down to where Issei and Azazel stood.

The four angels, clad in shining golden armor spoke as one. "We, the keepers of the gates of Heaven, wish to defect." Issei inquired to their reason. The response was bitter and concerning. "Our saint Peter spoke out against Michael and was publicly executed. Many of us wanted to side with our former trainer and master who now stands against Michael. No one must be admitted to heaven anymore. Only evil lurks there now."

_The ORC clubroom_

"How was your meeting with Azazel?" Koneko asked, walking over to him and burying her face in his chest. "I brought guests." He said solemnly, gesturing to the window. At that moment Rias walked in.

"Issei, honey, would you happen to know anything about the small thousand angels MAKING CAMP IN THE TENNIS COURT?!" She yelled.

"Well, you sure are a perceptive woman, Rias. I was kinda hoping you would miss that detail. Still-"

"No, no, no. I already consented to one angelic being in my vicinity, I will not have a thousand more on my doorstep who, from the looks of it, are not there to sell girl scout cookies!" Rias was adamant about her case.

"Everyone is gone for summer vacation, no one will see them. Rias, they defected from heaven and need a place to stay until we can get them a more permanent place on Tristan da Cunha. Quite frankly I'm not about to turn down a thousand of Heaven's best warriors." Issei replied.

"Well, then I'd suggest you find them a better place to stay."

"Alright, alright. I'll just tell them to march up to the town hall and camp out on the steps. I'll defer the church to you when they have to buy out the media again." Issei made way for the door.

"You are so despicable!" Rias shouted after him. Issei smiled and walked on, not looking back. "You will not get away with this!"

"I heard the average reporter can be bought for 2.3 million!" Issei yelled over his shoulder.

"Fine! Fine! You win, you asshole!" Rias 'mphed' indignantly and stomped past Issei, outside and out of the building.

"You know, everyone talks of working together, but I don't get the feeling they are going to walk the walk." Issei said when Koneko caught up to him. "If I were the local devil overlord and someone parked a thousand angels on my doorstep I wouldn't be amused either, but I understand where you are coming from." Issei glanced down at the paper in his hands, looked at the schemes, the math, the endless planning. It just didn't fit. It wasn't an integrated army.

"Would you lead them?" He asked, offhandedly staring at the paper, an Idea forming in his mind.

"Who?"

"The angels, the thousand outside. Would you lead them?" Issei repeated.

"I don't know. I guess I'd be honored, but why would they follow someone who looks like a fifteen year old girl? Especially if they are the well trained warriors you make them out to be"

"Because I'd tell them so." Issei stated matter-of-factly. Yes, Issei had a plan. Something truly… revolutionary. "So will you?" Raynare passed through the room at that moment. "Come on, Koneko. I need generals I can trust. Please, for me?" He said. Raynare made to speak up, but quickly caught herself. Not fast enough though, for Issei saw.

Was she ready for it? A test, perhaps. Yes, that would do nicely. "Did you want to say something?" He asked, turning to the fallen angel.

"No, master." She said, a frightened gaze in her eyes. When he kept looking at her expectantly, she began to squirm. "I did the laundry, as per your request. Gabriel's wounds are healing but she I suffering from withdrawal. I gave her some buprenorphine." Issei looked at her.

"I didn't ask you to look after Gabriel." Issei said with a flat expression.

"No, master. It just felt like…" She looked as if she was about to sprout wings and fly, no pun intended. "the right… thing… to do." Raynare might as well have been vomiting with her current expression.

"Regardless, you wanted to say something. Speak up." Issei said. He _knew_ what question she was going to ask.

"W-well… I was… yo-you know… thinking… t-t-that _maybe_…" Raynare stuttered anxiously.

"Yes?" Issei was getting impatient.

"Icouldbecomepartofthefighttoo." Silence, utter silence as Koneko worriedly looked at Issei trying to gauge his reaction.

Unbeknownst to the two this was where Issei's planned little act began. He started to laugh hysterically, doubling over whilst Raynare looked away with an indignant and ashamed look on her face. He took her by the arm and dragged her along. "I think you forgot what place you are in, perhaps you need a reminder."

"No… no… nooooo!" Koneko watched as Raynare was dragged out of the clubroom, desperately trying to grab hold of anything as she was dragged off to no doubt an unpleasant situation at best. Koneko sighed in defeat. Her boyfriend would _never_ learn. A few minutes later she heard a cry of fear followed by a dull thud and a civilized applause. Rias walked back in, a little calmer this time.

"Do you know where Issei went?" Rias asked.

"Follow the cries of agony." Koneko replied, gesturing to the window. "And don't tell Akeno. My boyfriend." Rias snickered and walked out of the door. She proceeded to the tennis court, where the blood curling screams appeared to be coming from. Rias was shocked by what she saw.

Tied to a tree was Raynare, an apple on her head and several arrows embedded in the tree around her. Some hundred paces away stood Issei, blindfolded, who silently swore and made a hand gesture before picking up another one of the arrows stuck in the dirt next to him. He notched it into the bow, pulled back the string and sent the arrow flying. Raynare screamed when the arrow embedded itself a mere two centimeters next to her right earlobe. The thousand angels, who had slowly gathered around to watch the spectacle and stood around the two, followed the arrow with their eyes, watched it miss any indicated mark and clapped.

"Yes! Yes! Save me Rias!" Raynare yelled, desperately fighting her bonds

"Issei! What are you doing?!" She shouted running over to him. Issei turned his head her way, feigned losing control of his bow a little and let the next arrow nick Raynare's arm, leaving a very thin line across her wrist.

"My, my. Rias, be careful. If you distract me I might just hit… erm, miss my mark!" He said, notching another arrow.

"Still, what do you think you are doing-"

"Shut up! Shut up! Don't talk to him! Don't distract him" Raynare yelled with fright in his eyes.

"What does it look like." Issei replied with a deadpan voice, letting go of the taut bowstring. "I'm doing target practice." Raynare screamed when the arrow struck just above the nape of her neck. Another applause.

"On your servant?"

"Call it an added dimension if you will." He shot another arrow at Raynare, which struck just shy of the apple. "Was I close?" He yelled across the field.

"Fuck you! Just because you are above me does not mean you get to walk over me you asshole!" was his reply. Immediately Issei lowered his bow and turned to Rias.

"She passed her test. How can I help you Rias?"

"Well, I had a suggestion concerning the angels, but are you implying you were really in control the whole time here?" She asked a little bewildered.

"Rias, you are _really_ slow sometimes, aren't you?" Issei whistled and took three arrows out of the ground. One of the angels in the crowd took out another apple and threw it into the air as hard as he could. In rapid succession Issei shot two arrows up which went invisible against the glare of the sun. Then he turned and sent one more arrow at Raynare. It struck the apple dead center and split it with a neat vertical line.

Issei took of the blindfold. "Someone untie her." He said, gesturing to Raynare who was looking at him with a mixed expression. "Oh and Rias," He took her hands and stretched them out at elbow length from her. "Catch."

"What are you-" at that moment something cold and wet hit her hands. She looked down to see the apple, neatly cut in four parts. "You are really good." She remarked. "Why the blindfold?"

"Because you can sense the world around you through other means than your eyes. People always seem ignorant of that fact." At that moment Raynare walked up to him and visibly fought the urge to slap him across the face.

"Congratulations, you passed." Issei said and took out the duty roster. "Pick one." Raynare was a little bewildered, but did ask he asked. The fallen angel's eyes scanned across the numbers and symbols, not understanding any of it. There was a clear division into six rows.

"That one." She said, pointing to the one on the left. Issei turned the page over, looking at the one she picked.

"Congratulations, you are now head of intelligence. I hereby release you from your role as my servant. Enjoy being in the fight." Issei said as he walked off. This was absurd. Rias looked back and forth between the retreating Issei and the dumb folded Raynare. Quickly she ran after Issei.

"Wait, you just made her a general in your army? Can you even trust her?"

"So many questions, Rias. You forget who I am. When I first took her in, I did so because I sensed her spirit was pure. Despite what you think, she is not inherently evil and therefore trustworthy. All I needed to know was if she was fit to lead. She realized what leading means on that field five minutes ago. Soon she will be the one holding the bow and whoever is below her will be tied to the tree. Figuratively that is. I needed to know she will not abuse that fact and turn the bow on her enemies instead of her 'servants'."

"You put her to the test?" Rias asked incredulously. Issei nodded.

"You have some experience leading too, am I right?" Issei asked. Rias looked at him and nodded.

"I am a King. Of course I do." Issei studied her carefully, and then held out the roster to her as well.

"The four left ones are already spoken for. Pick one." Issei looked over the page. She too, did not understand what the markings and numbers meant, but picked a row regardless. Issei turned the page over, looking where she held her finger. "Congratulations. You are now head of special operations."

Later that day Issei sat on the grass, his back to a tree with his girlfriend sprawled out over his lap. Koneko watched the setting sun as Issei was scratching and scribbling on a note block. Eventually he put down the paper and absentmindedly started toying with Koneko's hair. One of the angels came out of the encampment on the tennis court and headed for them.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ursus, leader of Justice White, the first gatekeepers. Might I have a word?" He asked once he reached them. Issei leaned down, kissed his girl with wings of fire and gently removed her from his lap.

"Walk with me." He instructed the angel, who fell into step next to him.

"We have a problem." The angel said. Issei shot a questioning glance his way. "Now that there are no guardians of the gates of heaven anymore, dead souls have nowhere to go. There is a buffer in place, but it's filling. Rapidly. I might have a solution though." He was silent for a bit, contemplating the best way to put his suggestion forward. "Perhaps we could turn part of your army into Seraphim."

"Absolutely not." Issei replied. The ritual bound roaming souls to another individual, increasing their power but o so easily corruptible. Whoever preformed the rite gained unprecedented control over the person who gained control over the souls. "There is no guarantee I can turn them back to normal afterwards."

"The alternative is wait for the buffer to overflow and watch Michael make them." The angel reminded him. Issei silently cursed, realizing he was right. He would have to shift around even more battalions now. He turned to the angel and pointed a finger at him.

"Only you, your men or me make them and its volunteer basis _only_. Understood? And only after the volunteers have been well informed about the consequences." Issei rubbed his temples. "I'll have a long night ahead of me if I'm gonna make all the math work. Do me a favor and go tell your new Prefect." Issei said. The angel quirked an eyebrow. "Koneko, she's to be your new leader, remember?" He said gesturing to the girl who was watching them intently from some hundred meters away.

"Ah, yes. Prefect Toujou." The angel said. "Are you sure she is capable of leading us?" He asked. Issei frowned and fought to regain his composure.

"What she might lack here." Issei said poking the man's strong upper arm, "you lack in here." He said, poking the man's head. "Now shoo before I decide to read more into that comment." Before Issei was to retreat for the night he had to do one more thing. Walking back into the ORC he headed over to his chambers and sat down in one of the chairs next to the bed. With pity he looked at Gabriel's writhing and sweating form as she softly cried within the blankets.

"What am I to do with you?" he softly said to himself, contemplating.

"Enlist her with me." Raphael said from behind him. Issei turned, not having noticed the other Seraph's presence.

"Well, you are on medic duty, so I could stick her with you. I still don't fully trust her, though."

"As much is to be expected. She did do this to herself because of you, though. I'd say she is doing all she can to earn her redemption." Issei nodded in agreement.

"I can't really talk to her about it when she is… like this…" Issei said, gesturing to Gabriel. "It will be another week at least, probably two. Can you run the show by yourself that long?" Raphael nodded in reply. "Then let's wage a war, Raphael."


	16. Interlude

Hello, Little in-between thing, so all of you know what's happening when I refer to numbers, ranks, commanders etc. Think of this as a little cheat-sheet! The next chapter will be happening soon I hope.

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><p><span><strong>The Trinity Army<strong>

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><p><strong><em>The Chain of Command<em>**_  
><em>

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><p>Issei: <strong>Aquilifer (highest ranking),<strong> under him:

Joshua, Serafall, Xenovia, Irina, Azazel, Sirzechs, Raynare, Rias, Raphael, Gabriel and Koneko: **Prefect (second tier, reports directly to Issei)**

**78 Orion (Report to their Prefects)**

**20280 Leftenants (Report to their Orion)**

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><p><em><strong>The Structure and Terminology of each section, along with commanders and numbers<strong>_

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><p><span>Medical Detachment:<span>

**Commanders:**

Raphael, Kites 1-16, Shields 1-160, Avecs 1-1280 (Attached to regular infantry)

Gabriel, Kites 17-21, Shields 161-210, Avecs 1281-1680 (Attached to mounted and specialized infantry) + 1041 Doctors deployed in the Medical Facility on Tristan da Cunha

**Structure from small to large**

**8 men** (irregular exorcist/devil/fallen angel) make up **one Avec.** **10 Avecs** go under one Leftenant and make up a** Shield. 10 Shields** go under one Orion and make up **a Kite**.

1 Kite=10 Shields=100 Avecs=8000 men. (not including officers)

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><p><span>Regular Armed Forces: Attachment, 16 Kites, 30 Fly's as voluntary scouts<br>

**Commanders: **

Serafall, 1st Storm, Wings 1-20, Zephyr's 1-1600, Fly's 1-80.000

Xenovia, 2nd Storm, Wings 21-40, Zephyr's 1601-3200. Fly's 80.001-160,000

Irina, 3rd Storm, Wings 41-60, Zephyr's 3201-4800, Fly's 160.001-240.000

**Structure from small to large**

**Three men** (one fallen angel, one devil, one exorcist) in **one Fly**. **50 Fly's** go under one Leftenant and make up one **Zephyr**. **80 Zephyr's** go under one Orion and make up a **Wing**. **20 Wings** make up one **Storm**.

1 storm=20 wings=1600 Zephyr's=80.000 Fly's=240.000 men. (not including officers)

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><p><span>Spirit bonded Infantry (Seraphim): Attachment, 4 Kites<br>

**Commanders:**

Azazel, 1st Tide, Floods 1-10, Flows 1-200, Waves 1-10.000

Sirzechs, 2nd Tide, Floods 11-20, Flows 201-400, Waves 10.001-20.000

**Structure from small to large**

**10 men** (irregular fallen angel/devil combination) in a **Wave**. **50 Waves** go under one Leftenant and make up one **Flow**. **20 Flows** go under one Orion and make up a **Flood**. **10 Floods** make up one **Tide**

1 Tide=10 Floods=200 Flows=10.000 Waves = 100.000 men

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><p><span>Combat support and Logistics<span>

**Commanders:**

Joshua Cromett, 1st Tare, Shunts 1-28, Ranges 1-560, Stones 1-11.200

**Structure from small to large**

**10 men** (mostly humans, but with the occasional devil or fallen angel) in a **Stone**. **20 Stones** go under one Leftenant and make up a **Range**. **20 Ranges** go under one Orion and make up a **Shunt**. **28 Shunts** make up a **Tare**.

1 Tare=28 Shunts=560 Ranges=11.200 Stones=112.000 men. (not including officers)

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><p><span>Intelligence<span>

**Commanders:**

Raynare, 1st Sight, Dreams 1-10, Visions 1-100, Eyes 1-10.000

**Structure from small to large**

**9 men** (three seventh human, two seventh devil/fallen) in one **Eye**. **10 Eyes** go under one Leftenant and make up a **Vision**. **100 Visions** report to one Orion and make up a **Dream**, **10 Dreams** make up a **Sight**.

1 Sight=10 Dreams=1000 Visions=10.000 Eyes=90.000 men. (not including officers)

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><p><span>Specialised Operations<span>

**Commanders:**

Rias, 1st Mirror, Flames 1-10, Heat 1-100, Embers 1-1000

**Structure from small to large**

**3 men** (mostly humans and fallen angels) make up one **Ember**. **10 Embers** go under one Leftenant and make up a **Heat**. **10 Heats** go under one Orion and make up a **Flame**. **10 Flames** make up a **Mirror**.

1 Mirror=10 Flames=100 Heats=1000 Embers=3000 men. (not including officers)

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><p><span>The Four Specialised Elite Winged Squadrons (Justice Black, Justice White, Shroud and Grimm)<span>

**Commanders:**

Koneko, Justice Black, Justice White, Shroud, Grimm

**Structure from small to large**

Four almost identical squadrons, each consisting of 250 well trained angels, complete with medics, officers and field specialists.

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><p><em><strong>Number of enlisted, sorted by race<strong>_

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><p><span><strong>Enlisted Devils:<br>**

408.192

**Enlisted Humans**

409.951

**Enlisted Fallen Angels**

391.951

**Enlisted Angels:**

1.000

_**Total number of people in Trinity Army including Officers and Leadership:**_ 1.211.286


	17. Chapter 16

Hello everyone!

Chapter 16 here to hit your face in a splendid manner involving many glitters and sparkles! I know it's a bit shorter, but bite me. I am in the middle of a bit of a mess and I'm surprised I found time to write at all. Next chapter will be up by the weekend! Enjoy, O'Ryaner.

Shout Outs:

Abaddonthedevourer: Thank you for your kind words! I will definitely keep writing, even though the time between updates might increase slightly the coming week (will go back down after [I hope]!). Keep thinking out of the box!

: magnificent comment, please comment more soon.

moneymaka: none taken. I just based my numbers straight of the numbers of enlisted people in the American army. Though it might not be a _stealthy_ army, but I thought: If the whole world is sending in people, it could possibly be happening. I want the army to have a sense of massiveness to it.

nintendoesgamer: indeed it is.

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><p>"Alright everyone, gather close." Kenshi walked up to the seasoned devil who was busy laying out an elaborate pattern on the ground. He had his tent and gear packed in bags on his back. Quickly he patted down his flawless white long coat to check if he still had both his pistols. He looked around the Cardinal Command camp which he'd been sent to, reason undisclosed. All he'd been given was an envelope to be opened upon arrival at destination, wherever that may be. He looked at the devil with repulsion, trying to fight the urge to pump him full of bullets filled with holy water.<p>

Kenshi was relatively young for an exorcist. At nineteen he wasn't the youngest in their ranks anymore, but he was a gifted student and mastered the art quicker than most others. The insignia on his shoulder declared him an A class exorcist, licensed to hunt the foulest of evils. Needless to say, he'd been rather surprised when the church had removed him from the active duty roster and told him to head to a set of coordinates to the west of Brisbane, Australia where he had been stationed. In the thick of the forests there he had found a small camp of perhaps seventy individuals, all from the church. None of them were any wiser than he was. All of them had similar envelopes.

He had seen the spell the devil was casting before. If he remembered correctly they used it to get around quickly. "This," the devil said, "Is a teleportation circle. I can't take all of you with me at once so I will make multiple trips, maximum of seven people each time. You lot," he gestured to Kenshi and a few people around him, "Thanks for volunteering, come on, we don't have all day." Hesitantly he stepped onto the circle, worried he might end up losing a leg or worse. The world around him went bright white, then he heard the crashing of the sea on a rocky shore.

When his vision returned to him he found himself on an atoll. Around him countless other magic circles were opening up. As far as the eye could see exorcists, fallen angels and devils were being deposited on the island by teleportation circle. Kenshi was roughly pushed out of the circle, before it vanished behind him. Around him he noticed more general looks of disorientation. He turned around, facing his fellow exorcists. "So, what's next?" He asked.

One of them gestured up to the edge of a cliff overlooking the beaches. "We are being watched." Kenshi squinted his eyes, trying to make out figures against the glare of the sun. Surely enough he noticed eleven figures. Five with wings, no doubt angels and fallen angels, two with crimson hair, brother and sister perhaps, next to them a woman with long pigtails. An evil aura emanated from those three. Three regular humans stood atop the bluff as well. A man, a year or ten older than him perhaps and two girls, one with blue hair which glinted against the sun and one with dark brown pigtails. Amidst them stood an angel, no… a devil… no, something… unnatural. Kenshi couldn't put his finger on it.

"Perhaps this is the part where we open the envelope." Kenshi suggested. He took hold of his knife and with a neat cut opened the letter. The paper was branded with many stamps, seals and signatures, confirming the authenticity of it. He read the letter.

_To all the brave souls who came,_

_The contents of this letter are strictly confidential and in the wrong hands would only serve to spread panic. Therefore it is strongly advised the information you are about to receive be handled with care. No one who is not on this island must learn of its existence._

_Currently, you are on Tristan da Cunha, a small atoll somewhere halfway between South Africa and Argentina. Take a look around you, for this will be your new home and the Devils and fallen Angels around you your neighbors._

_Now we get to the core of the issue at hand. The truth about to be shared is so phenomenal and abhorring we lack the true words to describe it. Therefore we will keep it short. God, the almighty creator, is dead. Slain along with the four Maou and the decimation of the fallen Angels. The Seraph took his place, kept the system going to prevent the collapse of the world. Recently their leader, Michael, has fallen prey to the corruption of power._

_Anyone of you who might have wondered why your prayers stopped working, why your exorcisms stopped working, there is your answer. The world will not end tomorrow, but soon it will start falling prey to evils greater than those we can combat. It is for this reason Michael must be stopped. Removed like the infection from a wound, for if he is not, the world will degenerate in chaos. This task befalls you, along with the 1.2 million others on this island._

_The army you are about to join is completely off book. It doesn't exist and neither do you anymore. This war is to be fought in the shadows for hope is all this world has left. Shattering the hope of the people would result in this world's unconditional undoing. Keep this in mind when you are sent back into the world again._

_Take heart, brave soldier,_

_Trinity Army Senior Command_

Kenshi finished reading the letter and sat down on the ground, breathing heavily. When he looked around he saw his comrades had similar expressions. A few of them were even in tears. He took the second page in his hand. On it was an elaborate scheme, laying out the structure of this _Trinity Army_. Printed on the lower left corner was his new designation.

_F69412Z1388W17S1A – Fly 69.412 Zephyr 1388 Wing 17 Storm 1_

Well, he better start looking then. Kenshi got to his feet and started to walk around the beach, looking for a way up to the bluff. It all seemed a little unreal to him. God was dead, Michael went evil and he was enlisted in the army to stop him. _Splendid_.

Finding Storm 1, Wing 17, Zephyr 1388, Fly 69.412 proved to be a bigger challenge than he thought. After an hour of searching he gave up and decided to ask someone. He saw a winged girl, amazing wings by the way, with living blue flames at the tips. A boy stood next to her, talking to her. He walked over to them and tapped on his shoulder. "Excuse me, I'm looking for Fly 64.412, would you happen to know where…"

The boy had turned around, revealing the unearthly creature who had been watching earlier. His penetrating icy blue eyes looked at him. "That's Serafall Leviathan's command. It's on the other side of the island. I think your teleported dropped you off on the wrong spot, I'll take you there." Quickly he turned to the girl and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I will not be long, wait here for me." Kenshi watched as he held out his hand and the familiar lines spread out on the ground, this time in a shade of blue. "Come on then."

Kenshi was snapped out of his dumbstruck state and complied. Carefull to maintain his distance to the boy. White washed over his vision again. Soon he found himself on the outskirts of a large mass of people, no doubt storm 1. "Watch yourself, Kenshi Cage." Kenshi turned around, startled. Why had the boy known his name? But he was already gone. Strange.

The devil with the pigtails stood on top of a large rock, her voice amplified by magic as she was shouting out commands. "Last call for wing 17! Leave with your Orion to the beach right now!" Beach, right. On his way down to the beach Kenshi passed a hollow in the rocks. It was dark, he couldn't see the end of it. Something dark tried to lure him in, he heard the scratching of claws on rocks. He looked around, none of the others seemed to be affected by it, or even notice the darkness in the mountain. Something heavy weighed down on his mind.

"_Mommy? I found your leg. I will piece you back together again! Mommy?"_

A hand on his shoulder snapped Kenshi out of it. "C'mon kid. You'll be late." On the beach they were split down even further until Kenshi eventually found himself standing amongst the 150 people who made up Zephyr 1388. A man who introduced himself as Yves Brunswick, their direct commander, spoke to them. "Alright, as your Leftenant it's my job to keep this unit as cohesive and alive as possible. I am only going to lay down one rule. Absolutely. No. Heroics. I realize many of you may have troubles working together with your peers. Believe me when I tell you this: I could not care less. Strike out against them and you will be court-martialed. Now then, Let's get you lot sorted out. After I call out your name, you gather next to me and you move along with your Fly to gather your new uniform. With it, you will receive a chamber allocation. You head to the mountain, find the bunker entrance and find your chambers. Drilling starts tomorrow at seven."

Kenshi watched as people were called out in groups of three. He saw the pattern. One exorcist, one devil, one fallen angel. Most scowled at one another, teambuilding was going to be a tough effort. All he could do was hope Senior Command had a plan.

"Fly 69.412, Mikah Biretti, Cecille Florentine, Kenshi Cage." Kenshi got up. Another man, his long light gray hair cascaded down his shoulders. His sickly yellow eyes were haunted, had seen to many things. A girl with long ebony tresses and a streak of purple in her hair got up as well. He caught a glint of red as her eyes scanned across his. Quickly the three made their way forward and past the rock. A few servicemen were next to a large pile of cardboard boxes.

"Exorcist, this way." One of the men said. His two companions received similar invitations. "Three sets of uniforms with the insignia of the church. You can get equipment at the weapons locker if you don't have any of your own." With that he handed Kenshi a jet black uniform with three stripes of white across the chest. Mikah received an identical uniform with red stripes, Cecille's were dark blue. Speaking of her, she truly was a work of beauty.

"No helmet?" Kenshi asked.

"Light spears are capable of penetrating up to thirty centimeters of solid steel. A helmet would only serve to ruin your hairdo. Now off you go." He handed Kenshi a piece of paper randomly drawn from a pile and handed it to him. "Your chamber allocations." He clarified. The three of them walked across the fields, following the steady stream of soldiers towards the volcano in the center of the island.

"So, I guess we are a unit now?" Kenshi tried awkwardly.

"Zip it shrimpy." The devil replied with a sour look.

"Do you want me to exorcise your sorry ass?" Kenshi replied pulling a revolver out of his pocket. A feminine hand grabbed his wrist and halted his hand. He looked over to see Cecille slowly shaking her head. She was right of course, this was not the way to fight and survive a war. Silently the three walked into the large underground lair. Contrary to what one might think the entrance consisted of a high dome. Bioluminescent mosses covered the ceiling in intricate patterns. This could _not _have been handmade. Their room turned out to be on the forty-second level, counting up as you got further into the ground.

Cecille was quietly shifting through her bag as Kenshi was disassembling a rather large weapon on his lap. The devil sighed. As if trying to make amends for earlier he spoke first this time. "Fine, I'll bite. What is that?"

Kenshi looked up. "This?" He asked. "Oh, it's my lucky rocket launcher. I have not missed a single shot with it, ever." He ran his hand along the trigger mechanism as if running his fingers through the hair of the world's most beautiful maiden.

"Well, that's not gonna be any good." Cecille said.

"What do you mean?" Kenshi asked a little offended.

"Well, in the epic stories it's always the one-in-a-million shot that brings down the bad guy. If you always hit you might as well give up now." Cecille clarified. She did have a point. Kenshi looked at her with curiosity.

"You are insane." He said.

"So I've been told." She hopped off her bed and walked over to him, holding out her hand. "You probably knew this already, but I'm Cecille." He shook her hand.

"Kenshi, pleased to meet."

Then she walked over to the devil. "Cecille." She said. He looked up at her.

"I will die because of you."

"Perhaps. But I would rather kill you knowing your name." The devil snickered and got up.

"I like you. Name's Mikah. Excommunicated diabolist."

"A what?" Kenshi intervened.

"Anti-exorcist. I hunted your kind… and angels." Mikah said. Kenshi tensed for a moment, but nodded. He filled the same role from the devil's vantage point after all. If they were truly going to pull this off they'd have to do it together.

"Where do you think they serve dinner?" Cecille shrugged.

"Let's go and find out."


End file.
